Scattered Reflections
by o0CheckMate0o
Summary: Despite knowing that he doesn't belong in this strange world, he has no idea where he's from. But he's determined to remember...with the added benefit of learning some things on the way. AUish. LuluSuza/SuzaLulu. Rated T just to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Wow! It's been a while, hasn't it? I've been reading tons more fanfiction than I've been writing…but I guess eventually it ends up inspiring you. A random little scene popped into my head one day and then the story itself started to blossom around it. Now I'm working with the deepest storyline I've had in years~ I'm just hoping that I'll be able to see this one through. This chapter won't really be terribly exciting, as most first chapters tend to be, but I've brainstormed out most of the second chapter and will hopefully have it up soon! Yay!

I know I seem to have a habit of doing "thrown into another world ono!" kind of stories lately (maybe I really like them o.O) but this one should be fairly different from my other one. Sorry for that and please try to bear with me n.n; if you have no idea what I'm talking about, then all the better!

I also want to thank my wonderful beta for giving this a once over~ :3 sherawks. 8D

Disclaimer: I don't own Code Geass or the characters, I just write out my fantasies including them.

~*~*~*~*~*

Something was wrong.

Through the tranquil darkness of his unconsciousness he had the nagging notion that something was out of place. Something wasn't right. It started out as a gentle tug somewhere in the back of his mind, a tug that started the process of slowly unraveling the many layers of delicately woven cobwebs that had settled over his senses as he slept. The more that he became aware of himself and his surroundings, the more urgent and unpleasant this sensation of wrongness became.

The first thing he was aware of outside of himself was a very bright light shining directly on his face. It was hot and would have been unbearably so if not for the breeze attempting to soothe his roasting cheeks. Then he started to notice that he was lying on thick grass, which was cool in comparison to the light glaring at him. Various living creatures were making their symphony around him; bees, flies, and other airborne insects were buzzing lazily, birds chirped, and there was the occasional rustling of foliage by some larger animal.

Wherever he was smelt of freshly upturned earth, of pollens and flowers, grass, trees…it was surprisingly pure. There wasn't a touch of smog, car exhaust, cigarette smoke, or any other byproduct of a city. It was a rural place.

His eyes slowly slid open and he cursed loudly and briefly as he rolled onto his side, eyes once again squeezed shut. The light, which he guessed was the sun, burned his irises and ignited a throbbing sensation in his temples. Usually an early riser and a morning person, he felt uncharacteristically groggy and weighed down, as if blocks of lead had been rested upon his limbs, making it difficult to move. It took him a moment to recover on his side with his cheek pressed into the grass, but he opened his eyes again with a sense of determination. He wanted to see this place.

The first thing he saw was a knee.

It was covered in worn blue jeans.

Next to the knee was a hand resting on the ground, partially obscured by the surrounding grass, and the arm attached was encased in the sleeve of a white cotton dress shirt with thin tendrils of blue stitched through it. He imagined that from a distance it gave the shirt a more off-white color tinged with…well, blue.

The position of the knee and hand suggested that the figure they belonged to was leaning over.

He blinked slowly and turned his head to look up, although he was careful not to stare straight into the sun again.

Indeed, the figure was leaning over. It just so happened that the figure was leaning over _him_.

He was met with curious eyes in a dark shade of purple with very oval pupils, currently small due to the overabundance of light. Dark hair fell around the pale face of this figure and full lips were pursed inquisitively. A response. The expression was one suggesting that this figure was awaiting a response or reaction from him.

Immediately be blurted out, "Lelouch," with his own sense of confusion and a dumbfounded tone to his slurred voice. The eyes of the boy in question widened in surprise, but soon narrowed as he sat up straight and moved away.

"No, wait…what?" He mumbled helplessly as he forced his unwilling body to haphazardly prop itself into a sitting position. One hand automatically reached to clutch his head and one eye fell shut as the other stayed locked on that familiar face. It was the only thing truly familiar about this place and he hoped that an explanation was available.

But nothing happened.

Although he was tensed to do something – attack, run, he wasn't sure what – this "Lelouch" didn't move from his new defensive position. There was just that look in those dark eyes and the breeze that toyed with their hair, the bugs and the birds and the sun and this strange place.

"Don't go. Please…it's me. Just…just me, so…" his voice was soft and he tried to smile. He wasn't even sure if his words were audible, as yet again he was met with no response. Just searching. Eyes searching for answers, threats, intentions. They were the wary eyes of someone who was used to constant betrayal, someone who had to distrust to stay alive. That's why they looked just the same as Lelouch's eyes. The eyes, the face, the hair, the body, the posture…it was all the same.

Then his gaze was drawn to a flicker of movement.

They weren't the same. Atop that head of silky black hair were two equally black triangles, one facing towards him and very still while the other was a busy little satellite picking up noise from the surrounding area, should something of importance be happening. Just behind him was a lithe black tail that remained mostly still besides the occasional twitch of the tip.

He face-faulted.

"Oh," there was heavy disappointment in his tone. "You're not…" But he couldn't dwell on that. While he wasn't sure why, there was an urgency to find out about this place. Everything was still so fuzzy. But something was wrong, his brain kept reminding him. And it wasn't just because "Lelouch" had cat ears and a tail. "…Can you even speak?"

Now that he thought about it, this look-alike seemed to exaggerate on the cat-like behaviors the Lelouch he knew possessed. The way he acted reminded him of his Lelouch, but there was a touch more of an emphasis on his feline attributes. He wasn't sure how far that extended.

"…I can speak just fine," was the haughty response he got after a moment's pause. It was in Lelouch's voice, too. The brief moment where his lips were parted exposed tiny fangs. "Who are you? How do you know my name?"

He blinked. So not only did they look a lot alike, sound alike, and act alike…but they shared a name? The confusion in his face intensified as his mind, slowed by that lingering grogginess, attempted to compare the two images. The Lelouch he knew, the one he was sure of knowing despite forgetting most other things, and the one sitting in front of him now. They weren't the same. But they were very similar.

"Suzaku. That's my name." He sounded uncertain at first, but gradually gave a nod to confirm it. "I'm not sure…where I am. But you…I know someone who looks like you. His name is Lelouch…" He ran a hand through his hair, and after coming across a blade of grass began to sheepishly try to clean himself up. There was a strange sense of importance in looking decent in front of this…Lelouch. Who…wasn't Lelouch, but was and…his head hurt. He decided to give up with the thinking and just go by what his subconscious was telling him to do.

"I'm the only Lelouch that looks like this." A slim eyebrow raised in a questioning manner. Then he shook his head, tossing some of his hair out of place. It was quickly remedied. A habit he was familiar with. "I don't know a Suzaku, either. And definitely not a _human_ named Suzaku." Lelouch got to his feet and brushed off his clothes as his tail began to sway behind him in what might have been a more relaxed manner than before. He didn't think Suzaku was a threat despite the weird things he was saying, and for a moment Suzaku feared that he was getting up to leave. He wasn't sure if he could follow after him yet.

"Uh, human…yeah…why do you say it like that?" He asked hurriedly as he attempted to get to his own feet, hoping that he might be able to stall Lelouch. There wasn't any pain as he moved, just that numb grogginess. Mentally he cursed his body for taking so long to recover from a simple nap – it was confusing, and another one of those things that was clearly not right. He wasn't sure why, but it shouldn't have been happening.

A soft noise of amusement easily put an end to his futile efforts. Bright green eyes shot up to inquire what the noise was…or more like, where it had come from and why, and he was surprised to see this cat version of Lelouch attempting to fight back a smile. Purple eyes danced with mirth as they made eye contact briefly, only for Suzaku to hurriedly look away when his cheeks started to burn.

"You're currently in cat territory," he stated, casually skirting around the topic of "humans", and offered Suzaku a hand to help him up. It was almost exactly like the hand he had grabbed countless times, sans the sharper looking (but still very well groomed) nails. He wasn't sure how it was going to help him when he couldn't bring himself to move properly, however. "Close to the edge of it, though. We're on some outskirts of a town. I'm sure the name wouldn't mean anything to you anyway, but this area is known as Gareth. It's a poorer, often ignored part of the territory."

The moment Suzaku managed to weakly move his hand to touch Lelouch's, an immediate change swept over him. The invisible weight was lifted and he felt re-energized, as if he really had just woken up from a nap. Blinking rapidly in surprise, he took Lelouch's curious look to mean that he had no deliberate part in the matter, and carefully got to his feet without pulling too much on his hand.

"Poor territory? That doesn't seem to suit you much." Now his mind was starting to clear as well. He would have thought that this Lelouch would be some sort of royalty as well…but then again, Lelouch had a habit of sending you and your expectations through a loop. "Gareth…but isn't that—" It was also something else, he knew…but what that something else was he couldn't be sure, and his mind told him that this Lelouch wouldn't know it anyway. He brushed it off when the cat boy gave him an inquisitive look. "Never mind. It's not important. …Look, I know this is going to sound really odd but—" Once again he was cut off, but not because of his own mind.

Lelouch's hand was over his mouth. Okay, that wasn't too exciting.

…But his delicate frame was pressed firmly against his own sturdy one. His cheeks burned for the hundredth time since he had woken up and he found it difficult to focus on much else. The warmth, the weight, the smell…

Those cute little cat ears were perked and twitching about and his tail was still between his legs. While Suzaku knew that he should've been trying to listen for whatever Lelouch was listening for, he ended up being distracted by the feeling of Lelouch's heartbeat through the palm of his hand and the very soft sound of his breathing.

Why all of this was suddenly fascinating to him, he had no idea. But other things seemed to pale in comparison.

After an eternity of this Lelouch finally pulled away from his body and dropped his hand from his mouth, instead moving it to take his hand once again and tug him along towards some trees. They hurried through the long grass, and Suzaku was sure that while Lelouch made absolutely no noise, he was creating a great raucous and he winced. But Lelouch said nothing on the matter and so he hoped that he had done an okay job in the end.

Once they were past the line of trees Lelouch let out a long breath and seemed to relax a bit. Again those alluring eyes were upon him.

"You're not from this place," he finished for him, startling Suzaku. "I know. It was obvious. I'm not stupid…the way you act is a dead give away. But it doesn't matter. We won't dwell on it. It's not as if you can remember where you came from at the moment, right?"

Suzaku shifted and folded his arms over his chest, then nodded slowly. If anything his confusion was growing by the second and he feared that too much of it might make his head explode.

…Well, maybe not literally.

"I don't. But I know that it isn't this place. Aren't you curious about how I got here? Isn't that what you want to find out? Investigate and come up with some abstract theories…" The look Lelouch was giving him was rather blank, so he shut his mouth. The silence that followed was a bit intimidating in his opinion, seeing as Lelouch hardly moved a muscle. Then the cat boy blinked and turned away from him to study their surroundings.

"I think what matters more than how you got here is why you're here. You don't go to places without reason. You have a purpose here, and while you may not be conscious of it yet, it'll make itself clear eventually." He seemed to be taking the idea rather well. It didn't surprise him in the least judging by his behavior. And while he didn't seem to trust him, per se, because he knew that Lelouch was not the type of person to go around trusting people so easily, he appeared to believe that Suzaku was not a threat. "Until then you should be aware of some things in this world. I won't bother to tell you everything because you can learn plenty on your own, but it would be dangerous for you to not understand anything."

By now he had turned back to him and offered a vague smile. "It's safer and far more comfortable in my home. You may join me for some tea."

~*~*~*~*~

They had walked most of the way through the forest, because Lelouch had said that they couldn't walk out in the open field right now. He wouldn't explain why. The forest was dense and there were fallen branches and tangled roots to watch out for. This Lelouch seemed to have the experience of picking his way through obstacles like these, and so for the first time he felt clumsy in front of Lelouch. There was the occasional amused look, but Lelouch didn't say anything.

The home that Lelouch was talking about looked like a nice place. Poor part of the country or not, Lelouch wouldn't be one to live in anything below his usually high standards. It was a cozy little place tucked away where it would be difficult to find if you didn't know where it was. It had a porch out in front with wooden railing and a few steps that led up to the door. For one person, it would probably be sizeable. Two people would be comfortable, and three would be crowded. He was led into the house, which was one story and contained no more than five rooms. The front door opened up to a short hallway, which in turn opened up into the room that doubled as both the kitchen and dining room. From there he could see the door to the living room, but he couldn't spot the bedroom.

Lelouch gestured to the small circular table fitted with a cream colored tablecloth as he himself moved to the stove. "I shouldn't be inviting you into my home like this. But you look so lost and confused that it's difficult to think of you as being dangerous," he admitted, and there was a touch of mirth to his voice that made Suzaku study the tablecloth in front of him with a sudden fascination. "There are two dominant species on this continent. Cats and dogs."

Suzaku perked and gave his full attention to Lelouch. While he had expected them to discuss this while actually drinking the tea, he wasn't inclined to tell Lelouch to stop. He was ravenous for answers, after all.

"We don't get along. We're both very different in the sense of how we look at the world and how we believe things should be done. We fight over resources, but ultimately our differences probably make the fighting a lot worse. Right now we're at the brink of war. The relationship between our two clans is very strained." He moved over to the table with two cups of tea balanced on two saucers, then set one down in front of Suzaku. "It's already sweet, so it doesn't need sugar," he added with a wide gesture of his hand, vaguely getting across that he was pointing to the cup in the process.

They sipped their tea in silence for a few minutes as Suzaku fought to absorb the information. It sounded familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He gave up when he didn't seem to be getting anywhere and tried to just gather the information instead.

"So you don't like each other because you do things differently? That seems like a silly reason to start a war. What's your opinion of the dogs, then? Do you dislike them?"

"…They're different. But it isn't bad," he said slowly and a bit off-handedly. "There's value in both ways of living. Neither side is truly correct or better. I'm impartial to them personally, however." A shrugged shoulder and the topic seemed to be dismissed. Suzaku felt like he still didn't know anything at all, a feeling that caused him frustration, but Lelouch was soon talking again. "I'm sure you're curious about the surrounding area, but it's dangerous to wander around. Tomorrow would be a better time. For now you shouldn't stray far from my house. I'd appreciate it if you didn't give away its position…"

"Does that mean you're letting me stay here for the night?" His heart skipped a beat and he felt excited at the prospect. Lelouch rolled his eyes a little and Suzaku cleared his throat, trying to cover up his very obvious, very childish interest. Of course, he wasn't even sure why he was so excited. He busied himself with sipping his tea and found it to be rather pleasant.

"I don't have much of a choice. I could always make you sleep outside on the porch…" He trailed off, allowing enough time for Suzaku to whimper, then shook his head and glanced out the window. "But you're more valuable to me alive than dying from hypothermia."

"Valua—"

"Do you want more tea? I have some things to take care of outside before I can make dinner. You can sit on the porch." Lelouch cut him off as if he hadn't even heard him starting to question the concept. Suzaku resisted the urge to scowl; it was so like a Lelouch, from anywhere, to confuse him with things. And to switch topics as he saw fit when he didn't want to explain. A touch frustrated, he balled his hand into a fist, rested his elbow on the table, and then huffily dropped a cheek on his curled fingers. It hurt a bit, and he ended up feeling stupid more than anything else. The gesture got two raised eyebrows out of Lelouch before he took Suzaku's cup to give him more tea.

In the end he found himself defeated, like always.

After attempting to be stubborn and pouty for about twenty-five seconds, he lost all hope in his ability to use Lelouch's tactics when he automatically took the fresh cup of tea from said raven-haired boy and thanked him. He would have smacked his forehead if he didn't have a delicate piece of china cradled in his hands. Worst of all, Lelouch seemed amused yet again.

But he made it better with a cookie and he, like the boy he still was, nearly forgot about the whole incident once he was seated on a chair outside, nibbling away at the treat to try and make it last.

So until he had consumed every last crumb he could find, he hadn't paid an ounce of attention to what Lelouch was doing. Now he found himself regretting it, as he couldn't seem to spot the cat boy anywhere and a feeling of anxiety squeezed his stomach, turning it sour. After so thoroughly enjoying his cookie, it wasn't a pleasant thing to deal with. So Suzaku focused his attention on studying the surrounding area, but found that from the front of the house there wasn't much to look at besides trees, grass, and the makeshift trail leading up to the stairs. It didn't occupy him for long, and soon he was tapping the side of his teacup with a finger and watching the vague ripples appear across the surface of the amber liquid.

"Just don't break my cup," a familiar voice mused above him. It startled him and he looked up like a deer caught in the headlights, or a boy caught sneaking a taste of whatever concoction before dinner. At any rate, it included large eyes filled with surprise and an almost-guilt. There was always guilt involved with Suzaku.

It was then that he finally decided to notice that Lelouch had his arms full. Or rather, that he couldn't have carried it all in his arms alone, so had made a make-shift hammock out of the bottom half of his shirt. But then he noticed that by doing this Lelouch exposed a generous ring of pale, flat stomach, and he was distracted again.

"…Sorry to interrupt, but would you mind helping me with these?" Lelouch asked, sounding a bit uncomfortable. He shifted, and the tip of his tail was twitching with the same sentiment. Suzaku snapped out of it and turned scarlet, then practically leaped to his feet, saluted, and attempted to take as much from Lelouch as he could. He studied the things Lelouch wanted help with, briefly, and found they were mainly vegetables. They were different from what he knew vegetables to look like and seemed a bit odd, but similar enough that he wasn't about to protest against eating them. Lelouch's shirt and pants were now smeared with dirt, and his knees had those grass stains…whether they had been there before when he found him in the field or whether they were new, he wasn't sure. Mentally he scolded himself for not being observant enough. "You're peculiar," the cat boy murmured and walked away to prevent him from attempting to take the entire pile of produce.

Suzaku momentarily wondered if his face would just permanently stay red and save him the trouble of blushing all the time around Lelouch.

He soon brushed aside this silly notion – for now – in favor of watching said boy's tail sway behind him as he went back into the house. Being inclined to that sort of thing, he wanted to cry.

Eventually, through some stroke of good luck (something he had completely forgotten about since the moment he had woken up here), he got himself back inside, gave the vegetables back to Lelouch, and flopped down in a chair to rest his cheek on the table. His green eyes stared at his cooling cup of tea without focusing as he tried to ignore the heavy silence that had settled over the room. Lelouch quietly cooked dinner.

The silence still hadn't lifted as they ate, and the awkwardness chewed away at his appetite while he was left simply poking at the food on his plate.

"Is it customary to play with your food, where you're from?"

He froze, paled, then quickly shoved a piece of…he wasn't sure what into his mouth. He swallowed hard after barely chewing and nearly choked himself in the process. "It's good," Suzaku wheezed after downing the rest of his lukewarm tea. When he managed to calm himself down again, he tried to use the broken silence to his advantage. "Did you grow the vegetables yourself?" Idle conversation would be good to start with.

"They were here when I got the house. I didn't plant them, I just take care of them." Lelouch shrugged and nibbled at his food. Suzaku prevented himself from staring by focusing on shoveling his own dinner into his mouth.

"You stare an awful lot," he commented off-handedly, causing Suzaku to swallow hard again.

"You look an awful lot like my friend," Suzaku tried to retort. It came out weak.

"…Well then, tell me about the place you came from?" Apparently finished, Lelouch pushed his plate aside to make room for his elbows. He laced his fingers and studied Suzaku, sending little shivers down the boy's spine. Once again Suzaku wished to high heaven that he knew what his problem was.

"When I try and think about things that happened before I woke up here, it's pretty foggy. There are only little things I really remember, like the Lelouch I know." Suzaku smiled wryly and kept his gaze on the plate in front of him. "I keep making comparisons between things here and things…wherever I came from, when sometimes I don't even remember what I'm comparing it to."

"It's there. Just don't push too hard."

Suzaku's eyes rose for a moment to catch a glimpse of a smile spread across Lelouch's face, but decided against really looking at him.

"…There were cities, back there. Wherever there is. With very tall buildings, mazes of roads…there was always a certain smell that lingered in the air around the city. I don't smell it here."

When Lelouch just nodded, something dawned on Suzaku and his eyes narrowed. The look he sent him was one tinted with wariness, a feeling he almost never harbored due to his terrible habit of blindly trusting people. Especially people named Lelouch. Even when he had cause not to trust him.

"You're awfully accepting of the idea of another…world, I guess it is. Someone shows up in the grass claiming he's from some alternate sort of reality where there's a boy just like you, and you aren't weirded out at all? Doesn't it bother you? You've even made dinner for me!"

"Even if it did bother me," Lelouch started, remaining perfectly calm and unaffected by Suzaku's demanding tone, "what would not accepting it get me? Is there another world, or are you just crazy? The only reliable fact is that you're here. You have a touch of amnesia, perhaps. But most importantly, you're a human, a human that claims to know me despite never meeting me, so either way…it won't change the important factors." He got to his feet and took their plates to the sink, perhaps as a way to divert some of the intensity of the conversation. "If you really are from somewhere else, it's still probably not the weirdest thing that's happened."

Suzaku was slightly dumbstruck. He sat in his chair with a certain numbness for a while with the sound of running water and china lightly tapping against each other in the background. Once again he felt a bit stupid, this time because of the very thorough debunking Lelouch had given his suspicions. When the water stopped, he abandoned that topic, but continued his attempts at talking.

"It seems like a real coincidence that you were in that field though, to find me. The spot's a bit far from your house I noticed."

"Not really," once again he managed a tone of nonchalance as he returned to his seat, his sharp gaze hidden behind a mask of lazy impartiality. "I scavenge. Town is a longer walk, so if I can find something in the more immediate area, I rather prefer it to taking a trip to town." He leaned back in his chair while his ears twitched, fully aware of countless little sounds, all while seeming as if he wasn't paying attention to anything in particular. "I'll be taking you there tomorrow, however. My efforts were in vain."

"What would you take me in to town for?" The thought that immediately popped into his head that this Lelouch was going to drop him off there and he would be left on his own in a throng of animal people. No money. No food. No knowledge of anything. "You aren't going to—"

"Leave you. No, I'm not. I have errands. I can't get everything I need here, first of all. Second of all, I have business matters. I'm not leaving you here. It takes two days to make the full trip. The first day is spent walking, mostly. The end of the day is for all errands that require non-perishable tangibles or information. We'll sleep at an inn, then visit the market in the morning and make the trip back." Lelouch seemed to be finished with the topic now as he rose to his feet and stretched with all the grace of…well, a cat. "Are you ready to turn in for the night?"

"Turn in? Already?" Suzaku questioned, looking incredulous. "But I've only recently woken—" he cut himself off with a rather large yawn that had him wiping at his eyes. Now that he thought about it he was beginning to feel increasingly drowsy. "But it must still be…" and when he looked over to the window he was startled to see that the sun was in its last stages of setting. While it wasn't very late, it definitely wasn't as early as he thought it would have been. Lelouch just looked at him expectantly when he pulled his gaze away again. "…That's really weird."

"The sun sets every day, Suzaku," Lelouch teased. As he walked out of the room, Suzaku found himself remaining where he was seated and staring blankly at the spot Lelouch had been standing. While it wasn't a rare occurrence to hear his name spoken in Lelouch's voice, he couldn't recall hearing it from this Lelouch. It was a nice thing to hear…so he ended up ignoring the fact that Lelouch had been teasing him.

"Are you planning on sleeping at the table?" The call came from the living room he had glimpsed earlier, and so he hurried in that direction while clearing his throat.

"No, I was just thinking. Sorry."

"Don't hurt yourself."

The taunt sounded so familiar that Suzaku was once again frozen in his tracks. It was the same voice. It was the same tone, the one that sounded so serious to the untrained ear. The words were even very similar, if not the same as ones he was sure he had heard before. Lelouch had his back to him, tail swaying idly as he set up pillows and blankets on the chestnut colored couch. When he turned, Suzaku was still sitting there looking startled and out of it.

"…Oi. I meant it. Really, don't hurt yourself. Get some sleep, all right?" A pause, and then, "I'm trusting you." The tone of his voice suggested that it was a difficult thing for him to do. There was the unspoken message of, "don't make me regret this rare occurrence." Suzaku was automatically determined to keep Lelouch's trust.

"All right." Suzaku smiled a little in response. When Lelouch said goodnight and turned to leave for his bedroom, Suzaku suddenly cleared his throat and blurted out, "Thank you."

Lelouch paused but didn't turn around to look at him. There seemed to be a brief moment where he might have asked why Suzaku had thanked him, but it didn't take him too long to come to a conclusion himself. "It's not a selfless act, you know…but you're welcome." Suzaku could hear the touch of a smile in his voice, even if he couldn't see it. Although he didn't have a reason to, he grinned. This time Lelouch left the room and shut his bedroom door. The last of the natural light that had flooded through the windows was fading, so he quickly removed his shoes, shirt, and pants, folded them neatly on a nearby chair, then crawled underneath the mound of blankets Lelouch had provided. He had to bend his knees a little to keep his feet from hanging off, but all in all…somehow he knew he had slept in similarly small but less comfortable beds. It was an odd and random fact and he paused, trying to poke around for more, but found nothing. After giving up and settling down, he briefly wondered if this new, odd place would be difficult for him to sleep in.

A moment later he answered himself by claiming he could fall asleep almost anywhere if he made himself.

He wasn't sure where that had come from, but before he could try and explore it, he had drifted off to sleep on the couch as the sun finished setting and an inky darkness settled through the still, quiet house.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Okay, so it took me about a week to get this done n.n; not too bad, right? I'm a little sad that no one reviewed, but I guess it makes sense when you have a boring first chapter. I hope that this one will peak the interest of more people. A lot of things are explained here…but I'm hoping that I left enough out for later chapters…and that everything isn't too confusing!

I'm leaving for a trip and won't be able to update as quickly next time. Even if this wasn't very quick. Just hope that…if anyone actually reads this that fact won't bother them XD I'll just make sure to think the chapter out in my head for when I return~

Thanks to anyone that read this last week, and many thanks to my beta again! :3

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the alternate universe. Code Geass and all the characters don't belong to me.

~*~*~*~*~

"Suzaku…"

A familiar voice was calling for him. He was unable to move or respond however, and there was a thick layer of blackness that seemed to coat all his senses. He couldn't see, couldn't smell, couldn't feel…and his hearing was very muffled, as if that voice was coming from far away, or if his head were under water.

"…Wake up…"

It was getting louder. There was anxiety and desperation in that voice. Although both emotions were glaringly obvious, the speaker was trying hard to cover them up with frustration and anger. He knew that voice…it was…it was…

"Damnit Suzaku, wake up!!"

Suzaku yelped and flailed in attempts to sit up and look around, but it appeared that he had gotten tangled in the blankets overnight, and instead of sitting up he managed to half roll off of the couch altogether, so that his torso was hanging over the edge with his legs thrown haphazardly over the arm and back. He stared dizzily up at nothing for a long moment before he was able to shake his head and try to focus his eyes. "Wha…?! I'm up!"

"I'm…glad?" A voice hesitantly responded. The cat Lelouch was leaning with his arms folded on the back of the couch, a thin eyebrow raised in that manner he seemed to love so much. He looked rather confused and startled.

"Ah…you didn't have to yell, you know…" He considered a few other, more pleasant ways Lelouch could have woken him up, but cut off the train of thought before it got too explicit. He didn't need this first thing in the morning…

"I didn't say anything." Lelouch frowned and his brow furrowed a bit as he came around the couch and offered Suzaku a hand, just like before. Suzaku gaped as his confusion increased a hundred fold, and ended up simply staring at the outstretched hand long enough that Lelouch was shifting uncomfortably. He looked ready to retract the hand. Finally his arm mechanically moved to grasp it and he awkwardly scrambled his way back onto the couch. He didn't want to admit it, but when he was worried about yanking Lelouch down, it actually made getting up harder with Lelouch's "help".

"But I swear I heard you…you yelled at me to wake up."

"You might have been dreaming you know. Things like that happen. I had only just come into the room and looked down at you when you started twitching and groaning in your sleep. I was about to wake you up, but it seems you startled yourself awake." Lelouch pulled the blankets back up onto the couch and dumped them unceremoniously on Suzaku, who made a grunt of protest and struggled to get them off of his head. "Was it a nightmare?"

"I wouldn't call it that. It was…just a loud voice…telling me to wake up. …You really didn't?"

"I didn't." A pause. "…I'll get you some clean clothes." Lelouch cleared his throat and turned to retreat back into his bedroom. Suzaku looked confused until he glimpsed his clothes sitting folded up some ways away and quickly studied himself. He was only in his boxers. Such an early hour and he was already faced with embarrassment.

Eventually he was dressed in a plain shirt and some jeans, both of which clung to him a bit more than he would have liked because of Lelouch's smaller stature. They were about the same height, but even this Lelouch, whom seemed more active than the one he knew, was thinner than himself. …And a good deal curvier than him too. Well, from what he could tell. Still, they smelled nice and felt okay and there was an interesting sort of thrill in knowing that Lelouch had, at some point, worn these clothes as well. This was, of course, what he mused over while he sat at the table and waited for Lelouch to finish with breakfast. It was to distract himself from feeling rather useless. But Lelouch had insisted that he do all the work, so in the end he was left tracing random designs on the tablecloth with a finger and feeling ten years younger.

Most of the meal was spent in silence. Suzaku would try to start up a conversation and Lelouch would shoot most things down with short and decisive answers. It probably didn't help that Suzaku was asking questions about this world and all, because Lelouch really didn't seem to like that topic. It became especially bad whenever he mentioned Lelouch's family, and often times he would have to sheepishly apologize and eat on without speaking again for a good while. Lelouch just wasn't willing to tell him much.

His own irritation was starting to rise as he watched the cat boy get ready for the trip. The thin boy had a large bag that he packed full of various things, most of which Suzaku wasn't allowed to get a peek at, and when it was full he did a once over of the house to make sure everything was in place. It was only a two-day trip, so Suzaku couldn't understand what all the fuss was over, but he did his best to wait patiently despite his inner mind demanding that he get answers. He felt nervous not knowing.

Lelouch pulled the bag out of the house and locked the door behind him before turning to look at Suzaku. There was something hard and firm in his eyes that made Suzaku's mouth go dry. He shifted once before Lelouch spoke.

"The plants need to be taken care of, and then we will be ready to head off. Stay here and don't touch anything, all right?" And then, because the bag was too heavy to bring with him, he left both it and Suzaku waiting on the porch as he headed around to finish his chores. At first Suzaku felt that that look had been enough to get him to follow that order…but after a few short moments he was already itching with a curiosity so strong it felt impossible to resist. How could he, when Lelouch was keeping secrets? Secrets that he showed Suzaku he was keeping? His fingers twitched and he bit his lower lip before he was on the bag and digging through a few of the pockets. A compass, some maps, coins he believed to be the currency of this place, and…he paused when he came across a book. It was flimsy and bound in soft leather without any words to label it. A simple buckle held it shut and Suzaku looked around before undoing it and flipping it open to some place in the middle. The pages were filled with tiny, neat, gracefully scrawling print that he knew, somehow, to be Lelouch's. Even more surprising was that he could read it. It was convenient that, as well as speaking the same language, they also wrote the same. Whatever it is this was…

At first none of what was written made sense, even if he knew the words. It seemed to be a record of some sort, with each page dated and multiple lines numbered with times. Some of the entries next to the times were short and brief, and some went on for paragraphs, carefully describing details he figured Lelouch thought were important. But what was being recorded, he didn't know. His eyes started to skim a larger paragraph in hopes of understanding, but a cleared throat made him go pale and slam it shut.

"I was…I was…" he began to protest weakly before the book was snatched out of his limp grasp and shoved back into the bag. Lelouch was glaring coldly at him.

"I specifically told you not to touch anything. All of these things are _mine_. If there is something in here that I choose to share with you, then I will make that decision." Lelouch reprimanded him as he hefted the bag up and pulled it onto his back. He seemed to struggle with it at first, but shoved Suzaku's hand away when he offered to help. "Let's get a move on, or we'll arrive in town too late."

They walked along the vague path through the forest again, Suzaku with his head hung and Lelouch a bit ahead of him, tail flicking in aggravation. Once again they were plagued with silence and Suzaku didn't know the right way to break it after his mess up. For now most of his attention was given to the ground, as the path was hardly a path once it reached the trees. It was back over all those branches and roots, but it looked like he had a slightly easier time than Lelouch. He extended a second offer to carry it, only to be hissed at. He didn't ask again.

Once out of the forest they were walking through the plain Suzaku had been lying in. Now that he could look around, it was mostly a vast area of tall grasses with a few zig-zagged trails left from travelers. The forest curved like a crescent around one side of the plain, but on the other side, after an expanse of flat ground, started the rolling hills. That's where Lelouch seemed to be headed, although his only indication was the direction he was traveling. Now that he no longer had to focus on not falling on his face, Suzaku was left with very little to set his mind on. He easily became bored as they walked, and then increasingly agitated. Whenever he tried watching Lelouch's tail he got a bit too distracted, and so he had to settle for the field ahead of them. There were plenty of bugs flying around, but after another cold look from Lelouch when he tried to make a game of chasing them, he had to try ignoring them as well. Before the trip hadn't seemed so daunting- most of a day's walk to town, it seemed easy enough. Considering Lelouch probably walked slowly, it didn't seem very far to him in his mind. However, the more he was faced with the never-ending terrain, the more he started to see just how long this was going to take. They were going to walk on for hours and he didn't have a single thing to do.

It didn't take him long before he started trying to talk again.

"Um, that book you have…" he trailed off, half wondering if he had chosen a horrible topic to try and break the silence with.

"It's just a log. It has no meaning to you, and I'd like it if we could keep things that way." Lelouch's voice was void of emotion and Suzaku couldn't see his face, as they were walking single-file. At the very least, he thought to himself, he had gotten the boy to respond. With words, even, not with cat-like noises that made him shiver and want to put his arms around him.

"Right. Just a log. Okay, we can go with that." The silence threatened to settle in, so he grasped at straws for conversation topics that weren't off limits. "You're still not going to tell me about humans, are you?"

A pause, and then, hesitantly, "Some consider humans to be freaks or mistakes, while some might as well worship the ground they walk on. It's a genetic mutation in this world to end up a human, although no one is sure how it occurs or why. It does seem to happen most frequently when a forbidden relationship between a cat and a dog is consummated."

It was more than he had hoped for when he brought it up so he did a silent victory dance in his head and resisted the urge to actually leap up. He had to keep Lelouch talking- he was on a roll!

"If that's all a human is, why have you been going on about how valuable I am?"

"Certain things exist in humans that do not appear in cats or dogs." Lelouch shrugged without looking at Suzaku, although there was a certain hint of unease in his voice that suggested he didn't particularly want to continue with his explanation. "Once again, some people find it a blessing and others call it a curse."

The window of opportunity Suzaku had uncovered was beginning to close, and so, desperate, he tried to squeeze a bit more out of Lelouch. "So either you think that whatever…things exist in me happen to be real important, or you're hoping to find someone else that thinks so and…"

"You can't honestly be accusing me of trading you like some object." Lelouch sounded incredulous as he stopped and turned on his heel to stare at Suzaku. The brown-haired boy laughed sheepishly and looked away while kicking at the ground with the toe of his shoe. "As much as some people believe that one race is higher up on the food chain than another, that is a black practice that has almost always been forbidden. Even if the trading of any race was acceptable, those that are disgusted by humans would not want anything to do with them, and those that believed them to be valuable would treat them far more like honored beings than creatures to be enslaved."

"…I'm sorry, I didn't mean to insult you or anything, it's just…" Suzaku rubbed at the back of his head with a hand. He looked so much like a scolded puppy that Lelouch had half a mind to check for any ears and tail he might have previously missed.

"I know. You don't understand what is going on, and you can't be sure of whether or not my intentions are harmful to you." After a moment more of studying his traveling companion, Lelouch turned around again and continued to walk on the path while hefting his huge bag higher up on his back. Suzaku hurried to follow while chewing at his lower lip. It didn't seem like an easy burden to carry at all, especially for one as thin as Lelouch.

"I trust you," he said, and his voice was firm enough to startle the both of them. They didn't know each other, although Suzaku swore he knew a Lelouch. And yet he was so certain that trusting him wouldn't be dangerous. "But I don't understand this world and what's going on, yes. So that's why I'd appreciate it if you told me, so I didn't have to make such stupid guesses."

They walked on. Lelouch didn't say anything more and Suzaku hoped it was because he was simply thinking over their conversation. His eyes wandered to the terrain again, starting with the sun. It was almost directly above their heads, suggesting noon. He found himself confused…that meant that they had been walking for quite a while, and although it had felt like a long time…three or four hours of walking couldn't have been correct. When he looked around he noticed that they were now in the rolling hills, the ones that had seemed forever away from back on the plain. The slopes were colored green with a much finer grass than that of the plain, and there was the occasional tree dotting more even areas. Rather than the tall and narrow trees of the forest, they had thick trunks and branches that seemed to spread outward, giving them a more stout appearance.

It seemed like ages later that Lelouch finally said, "I'll explain it to you, but now isn't the time."

Suzaku wanted to groan. At the very least it could be seen like a promise, but he hated being left in the dark.

"We're just _walking_. What better time to talk is there? There isn't anyone else around, we have nothing else to pay attention to, and who knows how much longer we'll be out here walking? I can't think of a more ideal situation. I will admit that yes, I'm not the one that does the thinking, nor do I understand anything about this place, but honestly…" Suzaku wasn't paying attention to where he was going as he ranted, and ended up bumping into Lelouch's back. He was lucky he wasn't stomping along at any decent speed, because he very nearly knocked the both of them over. The cat hardly seemed to notice.

"What's…?" Suzaku started to inquire; only to shut up the moment Lelouch raised a hand. Both ears were very still and pointed forwards, and the idle swaying of his tail had ceased- everything about his frame suggested tenseness. Suzaku really wanted to attempt inquiring what was wrong again, but he himself froze as well.

There was something coming towards them.

Or, well, it was spreading across the grass like some sort of puddle on crack.

It was pitch black and glossy with a very fluid movement, but it didn't leave any of itself behind as it made its way closer. Instead, in its wake the grass yellowed and shriveled as if burnt. While its direction very obviously pointed it towards them, it didn't seem to notice or care about them. The pace it maintained wasn't slow, but it definitely wasn't rushed either.

"…The hell is it?" he hissed under his breath to Lelouch. An ear vaguely twitched but he seemed reluctant to move.

"You can see it, right?" Lelouch responded slowly after a drawn out pause. He sounded a lot calmer than Suzaku, but there was still an obvious strain to his voice.

"Of course I can see it! How could I miss something as messed up as that? What _is_ it? Why is it killing the grass?" Each question was more of a demand for an answer than anything else, and it seemed like his anxiety was rapidly growing. Sure he didn't understand much about this world and therefore didn't know what was and wasn't a threat…but for the most part he had pretty good gut feelings when it came to this (or so he hoped) and while his feeling for Lelouch had been to trust him, right now…every cell in his body was screaming that this thing was bad. A blanket of dread and dislike draped over his senses and he wanted very much to get away from it as soon as possible. In fact he was getting ready to do something like that when a hand closed around his wrist. It was the same warm and soft one that had removed his fatigue yesterday, and once again the touch seemed to cleave through the turmoil inside his head. Everything cleared and sharpened and left him with a new sense of determination. He couldn't understand this feeling, but it was strong.

"This is why you're important, Suzaku," Lelouch murmured. He had dropped the large backpack down nearby, and the touch seemed to steady him as well. His focus was still solely on the black sludge, which had now ceased its movements and sat there quivering.

Apparently it had also noticed their shared touch, somehow. A burst of movement across the grass and it was a few feet in front of them. It really did just look like a puddle of oil…until the surface started bubbling. Slowly, and still in that very fluid movement, it began to raise itself up and develop a form. Its peg legs and body were thin, and it hunched over as if unable to support the weight of its upper half. Its head was circular, and most of the "face" was covered by a large, crooked grin filled with dagger-like teeth. There weren't eyes, a nose, ears, or any other distinguishing features. The real kicker of this monster was its arms and hands.

They were long and gangly limbs, but bulged with what might have been muscle. Both were bent at the elbow and kept mostly at its sides, so that the hands were held limply in front of it in a manner reminiscent of a praying mantis. These also looked long and thin, but there were four individual fingers that curved inwards like a sickle and came to a very sharp point. Together they looked as if they were made for piercing; apart they looked like eight knives. It raked its "hands" over the grass in front of itself, and every blade within the immediate vicinity withered. The head kept turning left and right as if inspecting them after flaunting its ability. Both sides remained where they stood.

Suzaku was reluctant to speak, but he managed to whisper to Lelouch, "I…get the feeling we need to kill this thing. We don't have weapons, Lelouch…"

"We have plenty," was Lelouch's even response. He seemed awfully confident, although he continued to hold Suzaku's wrist. "Unfortunately I'll have to ask for your permission later." Before Suzaku could inquire what he meant, Lelouch made a gesture in front of himself that seemed to agitate the creature. A few words that Suzaku couldn't catch were murmured under the cat boy's breath, and that's when the thing charged at them with the intent to hurt them.

A tingling feeling flooded his body as Lelouch calmly continued his incantation, and just when Suzaku was really starting to freak out and had prepared himself to tug the two of them out of the way, a large burst of power seemed to surge through him. Lelouch thrust his palm forwards towards the monster and a ball of light shot out. It went right through the inky blackness of its body, disintegrating half of it in the process. The thing seemed to be in agony as it writhed for a moment, and then clumsily made a last attempt to get at them. Lelouch shoved Suzaku to the side and both toppled over to get out of the way, although one of those deadly claws nicked Lelouch's shoulder on the way down and he hissed in pain. He resisted his immediate desire to cover the wound with a hand in favor of going through a much more rushed incantation while the monster struggled to get back up. The rest of its body fell to the next ball of light and Suzaku let out a long breath.

"You have so much explaining…" It was only then, when he turned his attention back to the cat boy, that he noticed he was a dead weight on his chest. Lelouch had passed out.

~*~*~*~*

Suzaku hadn't known the rest of the way to the town, so he opted for carrying Lelouch over to the nearest tree and setting him down against it before fetching the bag. Once settled he immediately tried to tend to Lelouch's wound, and he noticed that the skin around the thin cut looked as if it had been burnt. He used a bit of their water to dab at it but found he couldn't do much more.

The waiting was pure torture. He was incredibly worried about the boy, as well as desperate for more answers. So the few hours he spent sitting there watching Lelouch and doing his best to tend to him felt like ages. When he finally stirred Suzaku held his breath.

Dark purple eyes slowly opened to groggily look around in hopes of regaining his bearings. Eventually his gaze settled on the anxious Suzaku sitting next to him and he lifted a hand to try and rub the fuzziness out of his vision. A moment after he winced and craned his neck to inspect his shoulder, then heaved a sigh at what he found there. It seemed to Suzaku that this wasn't the first time for Lelouch. He opened his mouth but Lelouch cut him off.

"First of all yes, I am fine. Secondly, I passed out because of the spells, not because of the wound. This thing will heal all right with the proper attention. Casting spells takes a fair amount of energy."

"Okay. I'm glad. It would've been nice of you to tell me about this stuff beforehand, so I didn't have to go through all this!" Suzaku couldn't help but feel angry towards Lelouch, although he figured that some of it was out of worry for the boy. Lelouch was a reckless person, both here and…the other place that he recognized as home. He kept secrets and didn't inform people of things, often leaving them to figure it out as they went along or casually telling them after the information became useless to them. It was frustrating as all hell…he never seemed to notice how much he worried about him. He never noticed how badly he wanted Lelouch to share these things with him. "I didn't even know if you were going to wake up…I thought it might have killed you with that or something! What if there was poison on those things? What if you had to use your life force or some crap like that to kill it and used too much? If I don't understand then I can't help, and if I can't help, then I'm just a burden!"

Lelouch remained silent even after the anger and frustration drained from Suzaku's limbs, leaving him feeling more weary and worried than anything. He hadn't meant to go off like that, and now he was starting to regret it despite knowing that he had valid points. He was just that kind of person. "Look, Lelouch, I…"

"You helped very much." It was quiet but it still stopped Suzaku in his tracks. Wide green eyes stared inquisitively at the cat next to him, silently asking him to explain. "You helped more than you might have thought." Knees were pulled up to his chest, then thin arms wrapped around them and he placed his chin on the slim space between. Next to him his tail rested in the grass like a sleek black snake, and the only sign of life was the occasional flick of the very tip. Once again he was reluctant to go on, but he seemed to realize that this time Suzaku wouldn't let go of it. He didn't have a choice now that he had put them both in danger.

"Only humans can see them," he started out tentatively.

"…What? But you saw it! You knew it was there before I did!" Suzaku sounded incredulous as his brow furrowed. Lelouch was good at lying. He wouldn't try one that seemed so easy to see through.

"When I was a kitten there was a human that visited now and then at my father's request. She took a liking to me. She wasn't just a regular human, however…she had learned a lot about the potential humans held- their abilities. While she looked young she was experienced and an older woman. As I grew older, I paid more attention to why she visited my parents. They sought her out for wisdom…but when she told them about important things, things they needed to know, they disregarded her. She came to notice that I listened and gave up her attempts to get through to my parents. She told me about the monsters. Eventually she taught me that humans were the key. If she gave me her hand when there was one around, I could see it, but never on my own." He shifted and looked ready to attempt getting up. "…We have to get moving again. We have to get into town before nightfall…"

Suzaku got to his feet, and when Lelouch stumbled he was ready to catch him. "You're not in any condition to keep going right now. We'll just have to stick it out here until tomorrow. Besides, you aren't done explaining. You only saw them when you were touching her, so how could you know one was there?"

"Apart from the grass withering in its wake?" he replied as he begrudgingly accepted Suzaku's help. Suzaku lowered them both back down so they could continue resting against the tree, but didn't notice that one arm still remained around Lelouch. "She wasn't the type of human that could help out in battle, but as a parting gift she was able to give me a higher awareness of them than most other cats and dogs. They're easy to feel when you know what you're looking for."

"All right. So are you going to explain to me why you thought it would be fine not to warn me about these things beforehand?"

"Are you going to let go of me?" he snorted, and then looked amused when Suzaku hurriedly separated himself and put some distance between them. "They're usually in the town. It's not good to see them this far out. They originate from the town, although I'm not sure why. And that…I wasn't expecting to see that type. It's getting worse."

After a moment's pause Suzaku made a gesture for Lelouch to continue as he forced himself to calm down from that surge of embarrassment.

"Usually they're smaller and relatively harmless. The one we encountered was a second generation." He sighed and tilted his head back a little to inspect the sky. By now the sun was nearly ready to set and a chill was settling in.

"So you thought there were only…first generations running around, and near the town, but they've spread out and grown into second generations. You've known about them for a while because of a human girl, and she gave you the ability to sense them, but you had to use me to actually see it. I guess I can kind of see why that would make me worth something to you, but it doesn't seem like that's all of it." As Suzaku laid the picture out for himself in his mind like a puzzle he was trying to piece together, Lelouch dug through his bag until he had retrieved a blanket and some sort of fruit for them to chew on. He shifted closer and draped it over both of them, then handed one of the bumpy objects to Suzaku.

"Basically. Eat this. It's a little tangy, but it should tide you over until the morning." He took a bite out of his own and scrunched up his nose while chewing it. Suzaku briefly forgot what they were talking about as he watched him. "The spell I casted. The energy it takes for a cat or dog alone is usually more than they have. Humans seem to be in-tune with that sort of thing, however, and so through a mixture of the two energies it not only makes it plausible for the spell to be used, but it's more effective. I had meant to ask for your permission after I had time to explain things in town, but…I figured it would be better to take it and save our lives rather than get us both killed trying to maintain common courtesy."

Suzaku snapped out of it and took to chewing on the fruit in hopes of looking as if he hadn't been mindlessly staring at Lelouch. The sudden burst of citrus caused him to give a loud noise and nearly choke on the thing. It was surprising that it would have such a strong flavor and he struggled to recover while Lelouch hid his amusement behind a hand.

"A _little_ tangy?" Suzaku grumbled in annoyance. "…So that's what I felt." He paused again as he came to a realization. "You've been looking for a human, haven't you? You want one that can help you defeat those things. That's why you took me home with you."

Surprisingly Lelouch looked a bit sheepish as he spun the fruit in his hand, but he eventually managed a nod. "She couldn't channel energy, but she explained to me how much of a threat these things are. There are very few people that know of their existence, and even fewer that care to do something about it. I didn't think we would meet up with one like this. I had hoped to explain it to you in town, where it would be easy to find one and show you what they are. I realize you could very well be from a different place and might not care for the affairs of this world…that you may be far more interested in figuring out how to get back, but it's better to try to persuade you and fail than to have not attempted at all."

More silence settled between them. Lelouch had said all he felt like saying for the moment, and Suzaku wasn't sure of how to respond. He liked Lelouch, but there was a certain longing to return…"home". Wherever that was. His natural instinct was to help and protect…but how far was he willing to go when he didn't understand what these things were capable of? Both finished their fruit as darkness became more prevalent. Lelouch already understood Suzaku's answer, but he voiced it anyway.

"Let me think about it." He felt the nod next to him more than he saw it. The actions of the day seemed to fall heavily on him as the last of the light faded and crickets started chirping. Or at least, they sounded like crickets. As he prepared to doze off despite the unpleasant cold, he felt Lelouch shifting next to him and then a warm body was pressed closely to his own. The heat in his cheeks wasn't part of Lelouch's warmth. "Wh-what're you doing?"

"It's only going to get colder," he murmured in response as he made himself comfortable against both the tree and Suzaku. He pulled the blanket up to his chin and rested his cheek on Suzaku's shoulder.

"Oh…well…" But his protests were limited. It wasn't a bad feeling at all. Lelouch was soft and warm and his weight was comfortable rather than overbearing. That lithe tail hit his leg occasionally and he fought back his shivers. "…good night, then." Suzaku could feel the cat boy breathing and found it to be surprisingly relaxing, and when Lelouch gave an affirmative noise, he felt the vibration of the sound in his shoulder. All of these little things seemed so intoxicating that, while he noted that it didn't take long for Lelouch to fall asleep, he ended up sitting there tense and awake for far longer. How long that was he couldn't be sure…and he knew that he had eventually gotten some sleep, because the next thing he knew it was morning time and the sounds of crickets were replaced with birds and lazy bumble bees. He vaguely remembered dreaming about someone talking to him, but who that someone was or what they had been saying was escaping him.

One thing he was aware of, however, was a very tense Lelouch against him and practically hissing into his ear. This was enough to cause his eyes to snap open and he found himself face-to-face with the point of a sword. Not his favorite way to start off the day, that was for sure.

He noticed that the person holding the sword was dressed in shining silver armor like some sort of medieval knight, and he winced when it reflected the sunlight right into his eyes. There were a few more around them, all holding similar swords to prevent them from escaping their semi-circle. There was plenty of hate in Lelouch's glare as the cat remained curled next to Suzaku, and the tail against his leg was obviously bristled underneath the blanket. Yes the knights were threatening, but it really led Suzaku into wondering just why Lelouch despised them so much. Of course it was probably better to ponder that when he wasn't staring down a…sword. The one wielding the sword pointed right into his face puffed out his chest and cleared his throat, as if to make sure he had their undivided attention before sharing his very important message.

"By order of His Royal Highness, Emperor Charles zi Britannia, ruler over the cats, you are to accompany us to the castle."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Gyah, sorry this took so dang long! A bunch of stuff happened, including school starting, and there was a period of time where I just COULD NOT get the words to come out properly. I don't have a Suzaku-muse so it's hard sometimes! XD but here we go, finally. I'm so glad to get it out, wasn't letting me upload it for a while, it was frustrating. But here we go now, for anyone watching this story and interested in its continuation. I thank you for your patience and the reviews~ Some italicized thoughts in this one...and hopefully it isn't too confusing. I'm not sure how long the next chapter is going to take though, so I apologize in advance! *bows*

I'd also like to thank my friends for reading this for me and giving me their opinions when the site wouldn't let me upload it. *hearts~*

I hate being the type to ask, but if it's not too much trouble, I would really, really appreciate some reviews with feedback! I like hearing that people like it, but I also like knowing what parts you liked and what parts were confusing/gave you problems in one way or another. Many more thanks, and please enjoy :3

Disclaimer: Once again, the characters, Code Geass, and some of the concepts do not belong to me. My fantasies don't make me any money n.n;

~*~*~*~*~*~

Looking back on it now, while the journey had been incredibly boring and awkward at times, he believed that he preferred that to the current situation. They were walking side by side, the only plus, with their arms tied firmly behind their backs…to the point where the rough rope dug into his wrists and his shoulders were starting to get sore from the position. Too much struggling and he knew that the rope would rub his wrists raw, although just the shifting from their walking was enough to cause him a fair amount of discomfort. Next to him was the cat boy, practically snarling as he seethed and glowered at the ground. The intensity of those purple eyes very nearly made Suzaku feel bad for the ground. They were still heading towards the town, he believed, and through the rolling hills it was, which made the journey difficult for someone with their hands tied.

If they stumbled, or if the bristling cat made any sort of suspicious move, they were jabbed and occasionally smacked with the hilt of the knights' swords. No one would tell them anything about why they were being dragged off, although Suzaku had a feeling he knew.

In this world Lelouch was the son of the ruler over the cats. He was a prince and he had run away, perhaps he even did something illegal and now they had found him and were bringing him in for punishment. How long they might have been traversing the territory looking for him, he couldn't be sure, but Lelouch had looked awfully situated and comfortable in his humble little abode out in the middle of nowhere.

Maybe they thought he was an accomplice, or maybe they were just believers in the worth of humans, but no matter how many times he inquired why they were taking him, no one said a word.

Eventually Lelouch elbowed him in the side and he managed to get himself to forgive the boy for his roughness by repeating that he was just upset and bound. Then of course, thinking of Lelouch with his hands bound wasn't such a good idea and he tried counting the trees in the nearby area instead.

Nevertheless Lelouch hadn't exactly been ready to go wandering about just yet when they found them lying there. The wound wasn't in a spot that prevented him from walking and it didn't look that bad, but apparently the combination of a wound and using a magic spell twice, when it was practically his first time playing with offensive magic, was enough to thoroughly wear him out. Honestly that wasn't very surprising to Suzaku, although he wasn't sure why. Maybe Lelouch just didn't give one the impression of having the stamina to last long with multiple things sucking away his energy.

As much as they tried to push him on and as determined as he was to stay dignified, it didn't last more than a couple of hours.

When Lelouch tripped, Suzaku immediately moved to try to catch him, but with his arms bound behind his back, he was simply left with the cat boy's weight falling heavily against his chest and it caused him to stumble back. While he was light, he didn't seem to have much strength left to hold himself up and was left leaning almost entirely on Suzaku. He was soundless, even as they grabbed him by the back of his shirt and yanked him upright, nearly causing him to fall over again.

"Lelouch!" Suzaku cried as an inexplicable wave of anger came over him.

"Keep moving! Don't bother stalling…we'll walk through the night if need be. We must make it to the town ahead as soon as possible, and we don't need your fooling around slowing us down!"

"Can't you see he's ill?" He shouted in return, surprising himself with the volume of his voice. While he had no idea why, he found himself upset at the guards for their treatment of Lelouch. Wasn't he the son of the emperor here, or had he really guessed so wrongly? Even if he was a criminal, wearing him thin wouldn't do anyone any good. That's what he hoped it was…that Lelouch was unable to defend himself and they were hurting him and posing a threat to his health. He would get upset for anyone. "He's been having trouble this entire time, and now you've pushed him to his limit! If you plan on getting him to the castle alive, you need to back off!"

A knight raised his hand to smack Suzaku across his face, but his eyes were hard and narrowed and he stood proudly rather than cowering. The leader signaled for the man to stand down…and then started giving out orders to set up a camp.

"You four will continue on to the town. Three will bring back sturdy horses, and one will send word to His Majesty that we have found the boy, and that a human is with him." The four he had selected saluted and continued along the path they had been walking before while others began the process of making a cooking fire. For the most part they were left alone as one soldier took the time to look through their belongings, another began to prepare food, and still more simply stood along the invisible line of the makeshift camp to guard their prisoners. Without the use of his arms Suzaku had some difficulty helping Lelouch into a sitting position, and although the overall process looked rather clumsy and awkward, they were both eventually seated on the ground. Suzaku was looking out across the hills, which by now practically hid the far off outlines of trees where they had come from. The direction of the town showed no sign of buildings within any decent walking distance, and he ended up trying to calculate how far they must have travelled and how much more was left. Suddenly Lelouch was leaning against him in a way reminiscent of last night, with his cheek resting on Suzaku's shoulder. It pulled him right out of his calculations…but he was never very good at those, anyway.

"Are you all right?" he asked gently. For now it was probably a good thing that he couldn't use his hands, because he had the unbearable urge to brush his fingers through that impossibly silky black hair. He bit his lip.

"I'll be fine." The weariness in his voice made Suzaku's chest ache as he came to the realization of just how much they had been pushing Lelouch. The way he was going on made it very difficult to tell how drained he was, but up close and talking with him, he could clearly see and hear the exertion. "It was stupid of you to yell at them."

"They were going to push you to keep going!" Suzaku cried indignantly, then lowered his voice when a soldier shot him a look. He cleared his throat and continued, feeling sheepish now. "They would have kept marching you on, regardless of how hard it was for you…and if you fell and couldn't walk another step, they would have hurt you to try and make you continue anyway. I couldn't let that happen…"

"And if it wasn't for the fact that they thought we would take less time if they brought a few horses to us, rather than walking the rest of the way, you would have been hurt as well." Through the weariness there was a touch of bitterness to Lelouch's voice.

"…I'm sorry, Lelouch. I just…" He couldn't explain the feelings that had overwhelmed him so suddenly. Suzaku looked mournfully at the short grass in front of him as the silence dragged on for a minute or two.

"Why did you do it?"

It was so spontaneous and serious that it caught Suzaku off guard and his head snapped up to blink at Lelouch. The cat boy hadn't moved his head, he was simply resting against Suzaku as if he hadn't just inquired something so unexpected. He wondered if he had just made it up, as if he hadn't actually heard it. Lelouch was so unmoving, other than his breathing, that it seemed very unlikely.

"…Well? Is it because I look like your friend?"

Suzaku rubbed the back of his head. So it hadn't been his imagination. That was a difficult question to answer and he shifted a little uneasily against Lelouch. He was already tense from having the boy near him.

"I don't know," he responded honestly. "It just happened. I was suddenly upset and knew I couldn't let them hurt you. I didn't think or put a reason to it…" It had been so out of the blue that he hadn't come to the realization that he felt this strong desire to protect Lelouch, but he got the feeling that if he worded it like that, it wouldn't go over well with him. Obviously he had his ways of protecting himself, but there was something about Lelouch getting kicked around that pushed his buttons in ways he didn't understand. The fragments of his memory told him that it didn't matter which Lelouch it was; he would have done it for any Lelouch. But nothing explained the why portion to him.

Maybe that answer had been enough, because once more silence fell between them. It wasn't something he couldn't stand, and sometimes he knew that just sitting with Lelouch could be refreshing and comforting, but the lack of conversation allowed him to focus more on the men around them and a sense of agitation started to rise in his stomach. For the first time since they had been captured, he actually started thinking about what this meant for them. He blamed the delay on the fact that he was groggy when they dragged them off.

He didn't know anything about the customs of this world, about its politics or rulers or what was and wasn't okay. He hardly understood anything about himself, either. While he had vague memories and flashes of understanding here and there, it wasn't enough to help him. In fact it made him more confused. Now they were being dragged along by heavily armed men to see the ruler of this kingdom he had stumbled upon, one he assumed was Lelouch's father, and he had no idea why it was happening or what would become of them once they arrived. They could be executed or something, for all he knew! Normally…normally he knew he would take the lawful path. He would allow himself to be taken, he would go through the pain and hardships of whatever trial was necessary, he would tell the exact truth, and then he would accept whatever decision was made. That much he knew about himself. He had the feeling he had gone through something like that before. But he couldn't be sure if there would be any justice or fairness to the system here. Maybe they would take one look at him and have him publically executed next to Lelouch.

Not only would he refuse to stand by and allow any maiming of the beautiful boy, but he couldn't die here. There were so many answers he needed, but most of all, there was a strong nagging sensation for him to be back wherever it was he belonged. What would happen if he never came back and simply left the Lelouch from home, his best friend Lelouch? Sad. People would be sad…not just Lelouch, either, although he couldn't recall any of the other people he considered friends.

A wave of frustration overtook him. _Why can't I remember anything?_ He thought to himself, a bit of bitterness forming a ball in his throat. _How could I forget the people important to me? They must be worried, and here I can't…I can't remember a face or a name!_

He didn't realize that his expression had been darkening the entire time, or that he had tensed up and now had a mildly worried cat Lelouch blinking at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Suzaku."

The murmur of his name snapped him out of it and he shook his head to clear his remaining frustration before he turned his attention to Lelouch. He cocked his head at him in curiosity.

"Calm down, all right?" Lelouch was speaking quietly enough that the soldiers couldn't hear them…and most of them weren't paying attention to them, anyway. They were speaking amongst themselves as they lounged about, most of the immediate business already taken care of. "I prepared for this sort of thing the day I left. When someone truly wishes to find you, it's impossible to hide from them forever. The most you can do is prepare yourself for when that time comes." The purple gaze of the male next to him was now flicking from guard to guard, although his body was still turned towards Suzaku and he was still leaning in to speak close to Suzaku's ear. Suzaku swallowed tightly and tried not to notice how soft Lelouch's lips looked, instead trying to focus on _why_ he spent so much time focusing on Lelouch.

"This is part of what I had planned. Relax, trust me, and don't try to do anything heroic and stupid. We're going to be fine," he finished firmly. It was Lelouch's form of reassurance – be so sure of himself that others could be sure of him, too.

Still it managed to help him relax and a bit of a smile crossed his face, more at the sentiment of the words than the words themselves. The only response he could come up with, and the only one he had time for, was a bit of a nod. One of the guards chose that time to approach them with food. Figuring out how to eat it was the awkward part.

~*~*~*~*~

The evening was starting to draw near when three soldiers returned with horses. Lelouch had drifted off for a cat nap against Suzaku, mostly because he was bored and couldn't think of anything else to do that didn't draw yells and occasional physical lashes from the men around them. Suzaku was still awake though and despite the fact that he had just spent hours doing absolutely nothing, he felt giddy. He hoped it was dehydration and _not_ because Lelouch had been resting against him the whole time, his soft breaths ghosting against the skin of Suzaku's neck. He watched the horses approach, but allowed Lelouch a few more moments of peace.

Two of the three horses were rather large, Suzaku noted. One was pitch black with white socks, and the other was a brilliant white with patches of tan. The third one was smaller, obviously not meant for large knights in heavy metal armor escorting a prisoner. It was a reddish brown with a black mane and tail. All three were well kept, though Suzaku didn't know a thing about horses.

A loud whiny as they came to a stop in front of their encampment woke Lelouch and he slowly lifted his head from Suzaku's shoulder to peer around. When his eyes settled on the horses he murmured a flat, "finally," under his breath before attempting to get to his feet. The soldiers that had arrived on horseback dismounted, and two others yanked Suzaku and Lelouch up with far more force than necessary. Lelouch hissed in pain and returned to glaring at them. Suzaku had half a mind to glare, too.

"You, sit behind the human. I'll be sitting behind him," the captain said as he jabbed his thumb in Lelouch's direction. There was a bit of venom in the word "him".

Suzaku very nearly protested to that, as he really, really wanted to be the one to sit behind Lelouch on a horseback ride that would last a long amount of time…Just the thought of having his arms around Lelouch's small waist, his chin on his shoulder, pressing close to him to reduce the jostling from the horse underneath them…for hours on end with the boy in his arms. It sounded blissful. It would have made being captured one of the best things that had happened to him since he arrived, but he kept his mouth shut for fear of not only getting his wish brutally crushed, but a couple of bruises to go with his disappointment. Once again he was left admiring Lelouch from afar.

Only three of the soldiers would be going with them. One would be riding by himself on the smaller horse, and they were on the other two horses with another two men. All three had small bags of provisions, but most of their belongings were going to travel with the rest of the group at a much slower pace. Suzaku had to wonder if they would ever even see them again…when he thought of the rows upon rows of neat little notes filling countless pages, he felt bad. There were probably important things in Lelouch's bag. And he couldn't do anything to get them back. He felt guilty suddenly. He had arrived here from…who knew where? Lelouch found him in the middle of the field and decided to take him in, although he did admit that his reasons weren't completely selfless. But he gave him food and a place to stay when he was alone and confused about everything. There was some tension between them sometimes…but Lelouch…oh, he was just so wonderful. All the things (maybe he was exaggerating a little, because not that much had happened so far) he had done for him, even going so far as to save his life from that creepy monster, and what had he done for Lelouch? Somehow he would find a way to blame this all on himself because he knew that somehow, it was his fault. It made him miserable.

They were being walked to the horses, but the guilt must have been showing on his face because when Lelouch glanced at him, his brow furrowed.

"This isn't your fault, idiot," he murmured to him. Something about it made him really happy, but at the same time his chest ached terribly. Idiot. That sounded so familiar. Was it something Lelouch called him often? He managed a nod in response to the cat boy before they were both forced to mount the horses. Guards got up behind them, and the captain, once situated on his horse, looked back at the rest of his group.

"Continue on foot to the checkpoint to pick up your own steeds. We will meet you in the kingdom within a few days."

The men saluted him, and then the horses were galloping off, spurred on by nudges to their flanks with hard metal boots. Suzaku wasn't used to riding on horseback, and he never believed that it would be so…turbulent whenever he had seen it…because he knew he had seen it before. Which was why he was startled at the reality of it. There was also the fact that the horse was able to carry both him and a very heavy knight. He wondered how long it would last.

Despite his dislike of the "boring" travelling he had done with Lelouch before getting captured, once again he thought it was highly preferable to what they had to go through now. Not only was riding on the horse uncomfortable, but he couldn't even try to make conversation with the man behind him, for fear of getting smacked in the head and thus knocked off of the horse altogether. Everything dragged on until he fell into a sort of daze where he wasn't aware of how much time had passed. Soon things started to blur and it was too bright, although he couldn't see anything clearly. For a few moments he thought he saw shapes above him, dark and shadowy and he wondered, in a surprisingly detached way, if they were the same shadows that Lelouch had fought before. He was numb and couldn't feel a thing anymore, nor could he bring himself to move. There was talking but it was so muffled that it could've just been a breeze blowing through tree branches. But he couldn't even tell if there were tree branches, because the whole world seemed to melt together into one mess of color and he was starting to feel sick to his stomach.

"We were so worried…" It was a girl's voice, and it sounded surprisingly clear, as if she was saying it very close to him. He didn't know who the voice belonged to, but it was unsteady and he could hear the tears in her voice. She was crying and it squeezed his chest so painfully. It was the one thing he could feel…that and a strong desire to reach out and comfort her. _Don't be worried…what are you worried about?_

"Everyone thought you were going to die…that you wouldn't make it…" A bit of happiness crept into her voice, but a muffled sob overwhelmed it. This was a bittersweet condolence to her. "They say you're going to heal all right…but we all miss you so much…"

_Please…no, don't cry…you aren't crying because of me, are you? I'm okay…I'm okay…! I'm here and I'm fine…_

A hard nudge snapped him out of it and his eyes refocused properly. Everything took shape again and the fog in his head cleared. He was trembling and suddenly felt cold, even though the sun was still shining and bright. He felt his heart throbbing wildly in his throat and he could hear the blood rushing in his ears. What was that…? It had been so weird and…but her voice had sounded so clear! He shook his head violently to try and rearrange his thoughts properly, and to try and get himself to calm down. It was a dream…or maybe it was a memory. Perhaps that had just been a vivid memory, but…had that really been the way things looked during that memory, or was it a sound-only kind of thing? Suzaku suddenly felt silly for considering that memories might come in sound-only.

"Get off the horse!"

Another smack to the back of his head and he yelped, toppling off of the animal to fall on his side in the dirt and groan loudly. When he hesitantly looked up he saw Lelouch looking down at him, his purple eyes tinted with worry, and suddenly he felt sick again.

"Are you all right, Suzaku?" he asked, and tugged on his bindings in frustration when he couldn't offer him a hand up.

"Yeah, I am. Really…" The knight that had hit him pulled him to his feet.

"Are you sure…? You have been completely out of it and almost nonresponsive for the past two days…but you looked really upset almost the entire time we've been travelling."

"Wh-what? Two days??" Suzaku inquired, his voice growing louder with shock. Had he really just…not noticed two days going by? It couldn't have been possible! A few hours, maybe, but not days! And yet when he finally looked at his surroundings, he was startled to see that they were in a large stable…and outside the doors he could catch a glimpse of a huge tower of stone. It looked like it would have been…

"We've arrived at His Majesty's palace. It is time for your audience." The knight behind him declared, seeming unconcerned with the fact that Suzaku couldn't even remember he had just gone through two days of travel. The blunt end of a sheathed sword pressed unpleasantly into his back and he was ushered forwards. One of the men moved in front of them, guiding them out of the stable and through the castle grounds until they could get inside. The place was busy with people, all of whom had cat ears and tails of varying color, texture, and size. Many stopped to watch them pass by, but Lelouch simply held himself tall and kept his eyes forward. Suzaku thought he managed to look very regal and graceful, even with his arms tied behind his back…and out of all of them, he had the sleekest looking ears and tail. But that wasn't a good thought to linger on, because then he got curious about how they would feel under his fingers.

Silence followed them and spread around their immediate area like some kind of plague and it made Suzaku feel nervous. The place was very big, and the inside was even more intimidating than the outside. There were copious amounts of lavish decorations that lined the walls and the floors, some in the form of fabrics, others in the form of pottery, and still more paintings the size of house walls. Hallways stretched on for ages, some of which were mostly blank and bare, and others that contained many doors on both sides. All the while Lelouch's posture and expression never changed, but he had an air of confidence about him, and he seemed very sure of where he was going. When Suzaku thought about it, he imagined that Lelouch must have run through these hallways as a boy, laughing and playing and happy…or perhaps he had walked through them when he was older with his nose in a book, barely managing to brush past people.

When they weren't walking on rugs, their footsteps were a clamor of unpleasant noises that echoed around the walls, and it made them seem like an army stomping through rather than a few knights escorting them to the throne room. It gave everything a darker feel, as if they were being brought forth for their execution rather than a simple audience.

Panic rose in his throat, but he forced himself to calm down. Lelouch had said he was ready for something like this. Lelouch wouldn't let them get into a situation he couldn't get them out of.

And so besides their footsteps, everything was quiet. They turned a corner and Suzaku was starting to get tired of all this walking about, but when he opened his mouth to ask how much further it was, a strange strangled noise came out instead and the color drained from his face.

Off to the side of this new hallway was a jet black blob, more simplistic than the one he had seen before. It had a plump oval body with one thin and short arm that turned into a small hand. The pointer finger was long and more claw-like than finger-like, with the rest of the fingers very short and stumpy in comparison. There was a tapestry hanging from the wall it was propped up against, with the hand reaching up as if to try and climb it, but it was simply touching the very edge of the tapestry with that nasty looking finger. Wherever it touched, threads started to fray and colors dulled.

"Th-th-th…!!" Suzaku gasped and jerked his arm to point, but ended up sending a jolt of pain up the limb and it reminded him that his wrists were bound. He wanted to scramble backwards and away from the thing and was about to do so when Lelouch ran into him sideways to snap him out of it. Both of them stumbled, but managed to catch themselves before they could topple over. Violet eyes were narrowed at him with the very specific message that he should shut his mouth. He knew.

"It's just a tapestry," he commented off-handedly with a hint of exasperation to his voice. "It isn't going to jump out at you, Suzaku."

He nodded weakly and tried to keep his eyes off of the thing as the knight behind them yelled for them to keep moving. The one at the tapestry seemed occupied or uninterested in them, but he still shuddered as they walked past it. Even after it was long behind them he felt on-edge about the whole thing, and started to wonder how many more could be wandering around the palace, invisible to the vast majority of the residents.

They arrived at the throne room just as he was starting to calm down, and immediately his stomach started performing acrobatics again. Large double doors were pushed open to reveal the grand hall lined with pillars and paintings of past emperors, with high ceilings and chandeliers that glittered menacingly in the light of candles, despite it still being daylight. A plush red carpet led from the doors up to a raised area, two broad steps higher than the rest of the floor, where an ornate high-backed chair stood. The man seated in the chair looked huge and menacing to Suzaku, although he was terribly familiar. White hair rolled up in tight curls fell about his broad shoulders, and his body was very large and thick. He didn't exactly look fat, just…big. In contrast his purple eyes were small and narrow underneath thin white eyebrows, matching his equally long and thin lips pressed into a firm line. His nose was sharp and his jaw was wide and lined with a short white beard. Atop his head were two proud white ears, but his tail was small enough in comparison to his body that it was difficult to spot. In his royal get-up with his self-righteous posture, he managed to be intimidating despite being part cat. Nevertheless, beside him Lelouch held himself tall and regarded the man in front of them with obvious loathing. They were pushed along until the knights behind them deemed it close enough to force them to their knees. Lelouch snapped at the guard's arm, and probably would have bitten him if not for the metal sleeves.

"My fool of a son…" He started, his voice loud and words drawn out, unrushed and confident with himself and his power. Although Suzaku had been expecting this, he was still startled to know that the beautiful cat boy was related to this huge…man. There wasn't anything beautiful about him. "I told you not to get involved. And so you run off and gather the scum of the land together…for what?"

"This 'scum' you spit at has more interest in the safety and wellness of this kingdom than you ever have!" Lelouch spat, the fur on his tail bristling. The man chuckled.

"Your life has been too good, Lelouch. You have become overly confident and full of yourself, and with the abundance I have _graciously_ and _selflessly_ given to you as my youngest son, you have gotten bored. Playing the hero…but your game has gone on long enough."

"How dare you, old man! My entire existence, you have been concerned with no one but yourself, even when those _things_ took mother's life!" he snarled, and the ferocity and passion in his words startled Suzaku. "You always look to benefit yourself at the cost of others! The death of your citizens and decay of your kingdom don't mean a thing to you!"

The emperor momentarily fell silent. Lelouch seethed but started to feel a bit satisfied, as he thought the silence might have been a miniature victory.

"Do not speak of things you understand nothing about. Who are you to judge my work or my ability to rule, when you remain ignorant and fat on the success of this kingdom?" The man rose from his throne, and standing up he looked even larger. But he did not approach them – he simply stood there appearing intimidating. "You don't know a thing."

It was Lelouch's turn to be quiet, but he continued to glare at his father.

"Do you think you know what is good for everyone? Do you think you know better than someone three times your age? You don't even know what they are, foolish boy."

Here Suzaku perked, even as he felt his throat constrict against his attempts to swallow, although he wasn't sure why he had a sense of foreboding. It seemed as if Charles knew what those monsters were, and at the prospect of an explanation he couldn't help his curiosity.

"Since the beginning of time they have walked the earth. Long before our people existed, they have decided the fate of all things, animated or otherwise. The Incuria…they are born out of the dirt and filth that threatens to rot this earth. Anything useless, unneeded, undesired, all of it attracts them. It is their duty, their single most driving desire, to purify, clean, and be rid of things that do not deserve to exist. And you, you who knows nothing, would defy them for this? Your skewed ideals and lack of experience will bring you only death and despair! You are naught but a fly compared to them and the power they wield. A power that is growing as we speak…"

Both boys were dumbstruck. Lelouch seemed to be at a loss for what to say in response, and Suzaku didn't think his voice would serve him properly now. The only thing he knew was that those creatures, the Incuria as Charles called them, gave him a horrible feeling. They made his skin crawl and sent him into a sort of panic when Lelouch wasn't there to properly keep him in check, and he didn't think they could bring anything but destruction and pain. He couldn't see how it was good for anyone.

"…So you think people should just accept their fates? You think that because these things are old and powerful, we should just let them do as they please, even if it means the death of thousands?" Lelouch's voice had become deathly quiet, but his tone remained bitter and venomous.

"If they die by the hands of the Incuria, then it is something they deserved. It has been told of, in lore, how they shall gradually come to their full power and cleanse the earth of everyone unworthy to live! What shall be left after their divine judgment shall be a perfect world. It is evolution! You would be selfish to try and stop the process!"

"Maybe not everyone is perfect. Maybe there are some people out there that are horrible, that hinder progress more than help it, but that doesn't give anyone or anything the right to simply take away their lives! People…all people should have the right to try and better themselves. People will make mistakes, people will harm other people and things, but people can also learn! All these things are what make us who we are as a species…dogs, cats, humans, we're enough alike in our base structure! If something were to take away our ability to choose and grow and strive to be better, then it only makes sense that we should have the decision to fight back!" Lelouch's posture mirrored that of his father's in the way that it was regal and proud, but there was a grace and force behind the young cat boy that made Suzaku's heart speed up. Both men, father and son, had a way with words that, if they wished to do so, could move people to rally behind them. But Lelouch had a beauty and hidden compassion for the world that his father lacked, or at least, had become so twisted that it no longer appeared vibrant. Their eyes, while very similar in color, were very different. Both were passionate and fierce in their resolve, and yet, Lelouch…

The same boy who held no opinion on the differences of race, the boy who seemed content to live alone amongst his wild vegetables and fruits, far from civilization and avoiding contact with other people when he could…he didn't seem to care, and yet the fire in his words and his eyes gave it all away. There was a weird feeling in Suzaku's chest as he watched the scene continue to unfold.

"If people choose to allow these things the right to pick them over and create the "perfect world"…as stupid as that is, so be it! But you can't be allowed to hide this from them! They need to make the decision themselves! You don't have the right to force anything on them, and that's why, as an emperor, _you_ are the selfish one, and unfit to lead these people!"

These words seemed to anger the emperor and he turned his attention to the few guards that had been allowed to stay in the room with them. They stood up straighter and saluted, waiting for his orders.

"I have heard enough. The opinions of a traitor mean nothing. Place them in separate holding cells without food and water until I have decided what—" The emperor started, the word "separate" sending a wave of dread over Suzaku to the point where he wanted to leap to his feet and defy the man before him. But he didn't get the chance, nor did Charles even get the opportunity to finish his command, as the wall to the left of them exploded with a deafening noise, spraying debris forward and filling the room with dust and smoke.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Bit more than a week, but better than last time, right~? ...Right? D: ...Anyway, it's really funny how much easier this chapter was to write. Let's all cross our fingers and hope that the next one comes just as easily, kay? It seems like a few people are enjoying this story and I really want to thank them for it. Thinking of the people waiting for my next chapter really helps.

Thanks to my lovely friend for beta-ing, and to those of you that reviewed! Let's see, that would be: **Spunkay Skunk, Yamiro, ame no itteki, Serena the Hikari of Love, **and **Mizuki-senpai**! Your reviews really mean a lot to me so I wanted to give you a nice thanks~ I hope you'll find this chapter worth it as well :3

Please read the note at the end of the chapter too, okay~?

Disclaimer: ...Nope, still don't own it.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Pieces of the wall were still collapsing in a cascade over chunks that strewn the floor. Suzaku, dazed and confused, found himself lying on top of Lelouch. Dust and smoke were heavy in the air and he coughed weakly, his eyes straining to see the face of the cat boy underneath him, although he was fairly sure of the expression he would have at that moment. He probably wasn't too pleased with being tackled to the hard marble floor, even if they had already been kneeling. While he couldn't see any other people in the room, he could hear Charles yelling orders to his men as he blindly tried to seek them out.

"The prisoners!" he hissed. "You must secure the prisoners!"

Suzaku remained tense on top of Lelouch, unable to discern what threat was the largest at the moment. There was Charles and his guards, interested in locking them up for an indefinite amount of time, and there was the random explosion caused by…something. But he was determined to protect Lelouch to the best of his abilities, no matter what happened.

Well, he would have done a better job if his hands weren't bound.

The back of his shirt was suddenly violently tugged, practically choking him in the process, as he was pulled roughly to his feet. A sack was yanked down over his head, and then he was pulled in some direction. His protests were immediately silenced by whoever was leading him. He was helpless to do anything but stumble along as they hurried off, and then buff arms hefted him up and laid him on top of what he figured to be bags of straw, hay, or grain. Something was placed next to him before they were suddenly moving, whatever they were on bouncing and creaking along. Around them were shouts and screams, feet running about, orders being yelled, and other forms of chaos causing thorough distractions. When he started to protest again, the thing next to him jabbed at him.

"Shh! It's okay, Suzaku, just shut up!" the familiar, albeit slightly muffled, voice of Lelouch hissed, surprisingly close to him. It was silly how quickly he was able to relax. The ride wasn't very comfortable, however, and it seemed to drag on. He was anxious without the ability to see, but gradually voices faded until it was simply the noise of what he believed to be wooden wheels turning over the dirt road. When they finally stopped, there was a moment of pause before someone started helping them off of the…whatever it was.

The sack was pulled off and he had to blink his eyes to get used to the dim light. Immediately he noticed they were in a rickety old barn that was rather large in size. The floor was made of dirt and scattered with old hay, and the cart they had been carried on was parked in the back corner. Off to the side was a round wooden table with a number of wooden chairs, and wooden crates filled with candles, papers, and pens were stacked haphazardly near the table. A makeshift bookshelf was also visible, set up against one of the rotting walls and consisted of a few planks of wood nailed together. The books lining the boards were ones similar to the book Lelouch had been keeping in his bag.

Another side of the barn was piled with loose hay, and bales of straw were set up near the large double doors of the barn. Whether to act as a barrier to hide the other contents of the barn from view of any passerby or to act as a barricade should the need arise, Suzaku wasn't sure. There was a single window up high on one of the walls, and he noticed a "second story" of sorts that was only accessible by a ladder that had been nailed to it. From where he was he couldn't see much of it – most of the barn was dark, as the only light came from the small window, the slightly open door of the barn, and slits in the wooden walls themselves.

He tensed as he felt the flat of a small blade against his skin, but soon the ropes binding his wrists were cut and he was cursing under his breath. Blood rushed back into his hands, sending a dull ache to his wrists and pins and needles to his palms and fingers. He shook and flexed them, then set about inspecting the abrasions to his wrists.

"Lelouch, that was a dangerous ass mission you asked us to do. We really risked the lives of some good people today…" It was a female voice, though slightly deeper than one would expect from a girl, and she sounded very irritated, almost accusing. The cat boy next to him, gingerly rubbing at his wrists, just smiled wryly.

"It's nice to know you missed me, Kallen. I realize that asking you to do that might not have seemed like the best course of action for the group as a whole, but I would have hoped that you'd trust me by now…" He didn't seem bothered in the slightest by her tone or sharp tongue, which Suzaku was sure could have been considered unacceptable by other people's standards, at least in this sort of world. He himself had always admired strong-willed people, but she seemed rough. The voice was oddly familiar, however, and when he turned to see the woman Lelouch was addressing, his eyes grew large in shock and he froze.

_I know that face…_he thought firmly, even if part of his mind was already questioning this "fact". _This woman…is it possible that I also know her in the other world? Another person similar to someone I know? That name…it's familiar as well. Kallen…_

The only difference between them, he figured, was that this Kallen had reddish ears poking out of her messy red hair, oddly brilliant in its shade, and behind her a rather furry tail swayed. He couldn't tell if she was a cat or a dog.

"What are you looking at?" she snapped after a moment, obviously bothered by his expression and silence. She was defensive, and yet that seemed slightly familiar as well. Her brow furrowed and she scowled at him in distaste, her arms folded over her full bust. "I understand saving you, Lelouch, but why does the _human_ have to come along? You already have one useless pet that wanders around causing us trouble. What's the good of a second?"

A delicate and pale hand rested on Suzaku's shoulder and heat immediately sprung to his face. Lelouch was standing next to him, the other hand on his hip and a calm, confident, and unaffected air to his posture; he was used to her brusque behavior.

"He suffers from amnesia and doesn't know anything about this world, besides what he has observed during his stay with me, and what he has been told. He still isn't used to the concept of our dominant species on this planet…and this is the first time he's seen a half-breed."

Kallen seemed to tense at the term, but there wasn't any malice or other hidden distaste behind it, so she didn't comment. She simply looked off to the side and glared at a spot on the ground. Suzaku perked and looked between them with obvious curiosity, his innocent air one that once again reminded Lelouch uncannily of a puppy. Not that he had much experience with those, of course.

"Half…?" Suzaku prompted gently, addressing Lelouch in case he offended Kallen by asking. She snorted but otherwise said nothing.

"Her father was a cat and her mother was a dog, although in the end he chose to marry another cat for the sake of appearances. When a relationship of that nature doesn't end up in a human child, you get a mixture of traits. For the sake of giving it a less derogatory name, we call them foxes. They are even more disliked than humans, usually, though it is the cats that have most of the trouble. While many dogs also look down on them, they are usually not completely disowned as citizens." Lelouch removed his hand from Suzaku and stepped closer to Kallen, his eyes narrowing a little as he became rather serious. "You have a strong reason to fight. Please share it with him. While I understand your distrust of humans, he is very important. With him we can obliterate more of the shadow creatures in a day than we've managed to remove in total these past months. But he remains wary. We won't force him, but we should explain why."

There was a moment of silence between them, narrowed eyes simply connected and holding each other firm, but eventually Kallen relented and gave a reluctant nod. Lelouch rewarded her with a smile.

"Thank you, Kallen. I need to fill Ougi in on the details of what transpired in the palace, but afterwards we'll have a meeting and discuss." His tone spoke business, but his expression was still grateful. It seemed to soften her enough to make her a bit more agreeable, and Suzaku felt a twinge in his chest. He looked away and rubbed at the spot irritably, but returned his gaze to the fox when Lelouch walked away to speak with a man nearby.

"Listen up, human," she started, grabbing his attention. Her voice was hard, suggesting she was unwilling to put up with him right now, but was doing so simply because Lelouch had asked her to. "This isn't something I like to talk about, but if Lelouch thinks you're worth it…" again she snorted and shook her head, "you must be pretty damn worth it."

Suzaku sheepishly rubbed the back of his head before giving a hesitant nod. She rolled her eyes.

"I hate men without backbones," she commented off-handedly before continuing. "My mother refused to leave that bastard of a man, even after he ditched her for the 'sake of appearances'. Cats and dogs aren't at war yet, not officially at least, so it's not like she wasn't allowed to be with him, but the social crap behind it made it really difficult for her. She couldn't go outside and shop with the cats without getting trash thrown at her, insults yelled at her. She could live a better life in dog territory if she just gave it up…they'd call her a traitor for having a fling with a cat, but they wouldn't treat her like a piece of worthless shit! But she thought I'd have a better life pretending to be a cat…I can almost pass for either. I don't know why she thinks I'd have a better life here, because I think of myself as more dog than anything else!" Her voice was growing in volume some and she trembled a little with the force of her anger, her teeth clenched and eyes shimmering with tears of frustration. Suzaku understood then why she didn't want to talk about this unless she absolutely had to. This topic was very hard for her, still a fresh and stinging wound that she was trying to learn to deal with. The emotion in her voice, the slight tremor to it, and the expression on her face were incredibly intense. She felt so strongly about this that Suzaku, caring in nature, couldn't help but feel sympathetic towards her.

"…The ideals of cats are skewed and backwards. Their morals are all messed up and they'd throw a person away if they couldn't contribute to society, no matter who they are. My mother…that stupid, stupid woman, went out one day to the medicine man because I was sick and we had run out of medicine. No one else was home and I couldn't stop coughing, 'till my throat was so raw and it was impossible to get any rest. Something from him would've helped a lot…but damnit, I didn't ask her to go!" Kallen gripped herself tightly, her eyes narrowed to slits and tears threatening to fall down her cheeks. She took a deep breath to steady her voice before continuing, though her words were laced with venom. "There had been a trial going on around then that got a lot of attention. A dog merchant in cat territory was accused of starting a fight with and severely injuring a cat resident. The whole thing was so stupid, you could tell it was all set up. But with a lot of tension already there…it just ignited. There was a group of drunk cats in the streets…she went out all by herself…just for me. And those…those _assholes_…spouting crap about how everything wrong in the world was the fault of dogs, how they should be gotten rid of, all that sort of bullshit…they caught her."

By now she was crying, but she stubbornly kept her posture straight despite her shoulders shaking from the occasional sob. Her voice was becoming increasingly uneven, but she persisted, determined to complete her story. Suzaku was horrified and the dread was solidifying in his stomach, making him feel sick.

_Don't…_he thought.

"You know what they did to her?" Kallen asked, her voice suddenly soft, cold, and surprisingly steady.

_No…don't…_

"They tugged her into an alleyway by her tail. Clumps of fur were missing."

_I don't want…_

"They bound her, but they didn't gag her, because they wanted to hear her. Whatever they could use lying around they hit her with."

_I don't want to hear this!_

"When she was sobbing, bloody, and weak, with an audience surrounding her and laughing—"

"No more!" Suzaku suddenly screamed, surprising even himself. Everyone present in the barn looked over at him as he crumpled to his knees in the mixture of hay and dirt, his trembling and pale hands clasped to his ears, eyes wide. Tears rolled down his own cheeks, dripping from his chin to mingle with the dirt. "No…don't…please stop…" he whispered weakly.

Kallen stared at him, shocked out of her crying and the telling of morbid story, obviously confused by the outburst. She looked away, slowly returning to the attitude she had held before. "Tch." But despite the suggestion of her disgust, she was polite enough not to say anything on the subject of his reaction. "…She's in the hospital. I started fighting because I wanted equality among cats and dogs. No one should be treated that way, not because of their species, by any other species. That's still my ultimate goal, but Lelouch showed me that these monsters are a big threat to everyone's safety. He says if we can get the knowledge out to everyone, if we can make them choose between their petty differences and dying off altogether without a say in the matter, we can work together."

It was a vague plan, even to Suzaku who wasn't much of a planner, but she seemed so earnest in her trust of Lelouch. There was some sort of pride that entered her voice when she spoke of him. She didn't need an elaborate explanation of how it would make things better, or what they needed to do step by step in great detail; if Lelouch told her that the end result would be equality between cats and dogs, she would believe him.

"I fight for my mother, though I don't believe other people should have to go through that either. If we can get rid of this threat, that goal will be easier to reach," she concluded flatly, the emotion void from her voice…everything except the determination. She ignored the fact that he was still recovering from her story, and with her point made she turned to leave.

Lelouch was there, concern written clearly across his face. All it took was a look in Kallen's direction and she faltered.

"…He's too soft for this," she commented, trying to maintain her usual snappy attitude, but it was noticeably lacking in bite. "I don't think it's wise to recruit him." Her opinion stated she left to converse with one of the other people.

The dark-haired cat boy moved to Suzaku's side and kneeled with him in the dirt. A sinfully soft and comfortingly warm hand laid gently over his own, still clasped to his ears and trembling. Lelouch sighed and carefully removed the hand from his face and cradled it with a surprising amount of tenderness. It was Suzaku that spoke first, however.

"…Why are people so cruel?" he sounded remorseful. His voice was breaking some and he winced…was he really this pathetic?

"It's a mindset, a doctrine that is crammed into the heads of every kitten," he replied softly, soothingly. "They claim it's instinct, that we're born with this primordial need and desire for domination, but it's not true. 'Only the best survive', is what they say. 'If you are not climbing the ladder, if you are not better than someone else, you are dead'. Cats act superior. They act confident. But this doctrine scares them. They become so focused on assuring themselves of their own success and of other's failure that they resort to pushing people down. 'If I can dominate this person, I'm better and I will survive'. It's too much of an extreme…"

For a moment he pondered over whether or not it was similar in the place he had come from. Were people cruel there, too? Was this their reasoning? Superiority meant survival? _If people chose to utilize their own strengths rather than comparing themselves to others…no one would be worthless. Everyone would have a purpose and there wouldn't be a need to be afraid._

"What of the Incuria? How do they fit into all of this?" He was starting to calm down and he managed to look Lelouch in the eyes.

"They contribute to the fear. But most importantly…as unfortunate as it is to admit, it's also a very helpful political move," he murmured and averted his eyes. There was a flash of guilt that Suzaku caught. "Don't misunderstand. I can't stand repression of free will. People have the right to know what is taking place and they have the right to decide for themselves. I don't want people to die in the name of a 'perfect world' that requires lives to be thrown away, rather than rearranging the pieces on the board until the puzzle fits together more smoothly."

"But it's not just that?"

"…It's not just that." Lelouch seemed reluctant to explain himself. "That part is simply taking advantage of something and making it useful in multiple ways."

"Tell me," Suzaku said firmly and tried to meet Lelouch's eyes again.

The cat boy refused to look at him and fell silent. Suzaku felt oddly persistent, and both calloused hands moved to cup Lelouch's cheeks. He gave a startled and indignant noise as he was forced to look at Suzaku again, eyes narrowing at first in irritation before the lines of his face smoothed out again.

"Lelouch…tell me," he repeated with that same patient firmness.

"…Distrust. They won't trust the old government," he started slowly and quietly. "We can overtake it easily amidst the chaos and public opinion of us shouldn't become too negative. By stressing that the old order was able to keep things from them, even things that could have meant their death, support for something more representative and open would be higher than it currently is. Cats, dogs, and humans…will also need to work together at some point to remove a common enemy. We can stress similar interests and work towards eroding past racisms put in place. It won't be instant and it'll take significant effort and energy but…" he trailed off and swallowed tightly, his eyes searching Suzaku's. There was a touch of hopefulness, and the realization slowly dawned on Suzaku that Lelouch was seeking approval. He was worried that his actions could be seen in the wrong light.

_Lelouch…he really wants someone to understand his way of thinking. Has he told anyone else?_

Without thinking a thumb traced the curve of Lelouch's cheekbone. The skin of his face was as unbelievably soft – if not more so – than his hand, and his throat grew dry.

_I've never seen him like this…ah, any Lelouch, I suppose. Is this what the one I know would be like if he didn't hide everything behind a mask? What is he afraid of?_

"…You haven't told anyone that part, have you," his voice came out surprisingly gentle. There was a touch of relief in Lelouch's eyes, relief that…he wasn't rejected? That Suzaku wasn't showing strong disapproval? A shake of his head was his response. "I don't know a thing about politics and I won't pretend to," he started thoughtfully. What could he say to that? He wasn't even sure how he felt about the matter. "But when you talk about that part…I think you're forgetting the most important thing."

When Lelouch became confused, he smiled. Was Lelouch always so cute? How could he not have noticed it before?

"You care," he said simply after his moment of admiration. "You've looked at everything and tried to decide what might be the best way to solve the problem, right? You care about the people. You care about their freedom and rights, you want to save lives and you want to make life better for people. You say it like it's only about the politics, which…I will admit, can make it sound like you're just using situations and people, but…" he paused as he felt Lelouch wince. "Hey, Listen. I'm not done. I know that's not the reason. The Incuria are a problem and the way the government works right now is a problem, you want to take care of both. Taking care of the Incuria just so happens to have the possibility of opening up a way for you to try and reform the government as well. I can't say whether or not it's the best way of doing it but…let's work on it together?" he shot him a reassuring smile.

The gratitude and relief that became evident on Lelouch's face made him melt.

"Thank you, Suzaku…" he murmured. "I don't know why I'm trusting you so much…" Lelouch laughed softly. "You seem to know me so well already…"

Suzaku just continued to smile in response as he felt his own sense of gratitude…as well as a rush of excitement. Lelouch trusted him!

_Could it be…he's afraid of being rejected? Of having someone he trusts throw that back in his face? Is he worried that someone will think of his actions in the exact way he's scared they'll be interpreted? But thinking and feeling that…he wouldn't be able to explain himself, even if it could mean acceptance!_

Suzaku wanted more to go on between them. The rest of the barn had faded from his mind as his focus honed in on Lelouch, and he had a feeling their moment wasn't over. Things still needed to be said. But the man with the weird black hair and eyes approached them, though his expression was one of unease.

"Lelouch…" he started tentatively.

"Yes, I know, Ougi," Lelouch said, cutting the man off much to "Ougi's" relief. Suzaku reluctantly allowed Lelouch to get to his feet before following suit and brushing off his knees. "We have a lot to talk about with everyone. Let's take care of that now."

All three of them walked to the round table where a map was now stretched across its surface. Kallen was leaning back in her chair with her feet propped up on the table, once again shocking Suzaku with her lack of lady-like qualities. Something told him that wasn't completely out of place, though.

Ougi fetched a leather bound book to lay out on the table before taking a seat next to Kallen, and a few other people hanging around the general area took the hint and started wandering over as well.

There were only a few people here. One was a man with short, very dark brown hair and small eyes, a touch of a beard present on just his chin. He was also a dog, and acted an awful lot like one around Lelouch, despite the obvious difference in age. He wanted to be near Lelouch, which earned him a sharp comment from Kallen. They probably would have continued had Lelouch not shut them up and gestured for the man to take a seat. A quiet and small woman in a simple dress remained standing off to Lelouch's side. Her hair came up to about her chin and was a lighter black than Lelouch's. Her ears were small and floppy and her tail was short, the tip curled inwards towards her back. Her eyes were light, milk chocolate brown. She looked very familiar, but Suzaku glanced away quickly when she turned her attention to him. He swore he had seen her face before somewhere.

It was the last member present that really shook Suzaku, however; another dog, taller than the others, with very sharp features. His hair and eyes were also black, and his hair was trimmed very short. His eyes were squinted, very nearly closed altogether, even as he walked over with even and confident steps. He had thin and pointed black ears that stood straight up and forward, and Suzaku couldn't see the sign of a tail from his current angle.

"T…T-Todou?" he spluttered, his voice soft, so as not to draw attention if he had made a mistake. The name was there in his mind. It was a name he had known for a long time, he felt…it belonged to that face, the face of the man who had stopped walking to stare at him through his small eyes. There was no sign of recognition, but that was to be expected.

"…You've heard of me?" he addressed Suzaku in a deep voice. It commanded experience and power, and something about that awakened a deep respect in Suzaku. While he could not recall a single memory with this man, he was finally sure of something for the first time since he had recognized Lelouch. There wasn't a haze around it, there wasn't a question about whether he might know someone similar. He _knew_ that face, even if, for the life of him, he couldn't conjure up any details to go with it. Feeling the eyes of everyone there on him, he gave a hesitant nod. "Who are you?" the man asked without a readable tone to his voice.

"Yeah! I've been wondering that myself…a human, and he looks kind of _shifty_, don't he?" the man with the sparse goatee piped up, trying to make himself sound tough and important. He shut up the moment Lelouch sent him a look, his ears lowering.

"Why don't you introduce yourself to them," Lelouch said, one hand on Suzaku's shoulder and the other gesturing to the group gathered around the table.

"…I'm Suzaku," was his simple and quiet response after a moment of hesitation. Green eyes flickered between the faces to try and gauge reactions. Boredom, polite curiosity, contempt, unreadable. None of them seemed particularly welcoming or friendly. "That's…all I know about myself." Now he sounded sheepish and tried to smile at them.

"Like we'd believe that!" the guy said again.

"Tamaki!" Lelouch startled him with the force behind his voice. That was all it took to get "Tamaki" cowering again.

"…sorry boss…" he mumbled.

"All of you, I want you to meet Suzaku. Please treat him respectfully. He's very important to our cause, and we want him to feel welcome here. If you question what he says about himself…I'll deal with you personally. He really is suffering from amnesia, but…I trust him. I won't ask you to, but I will ask you to put some trust in my decisions."

He waited until he had gotten a nod from everyone before continuing, this time addressing Suzaku.

"This is a very small portion of the group I've worked on bringing together. Dogs are the most open to the idea, it seems, but we do have some cats. For now I want you to meet some of my best people." He gestured to the group. "Please introduce yourselves properly."

"We've already met," Kallen drawled dully with a roll of her eyes while fiddling with a piece of straw.

"I'm Tamaki, Lelouch's right hand man! His best bud!" Tamaki exclaimed, his previous energy and confidence suddenly restored. He proudly jabbed a finger at himself and grinned widely while his tail wagged behind him. Kallen was ready to snap again, so Ougi spoke up.

"I'm Ougi. I uh…lead a part of the group when Lelouch isn't around…kind of," he gave a slight laugh and rubbed at the back of his head.

"My name is Sayoko. It's a pleasure to meet you," the quiet woman said and bowed politely.

"It would appear that you already know my name," Todou started, paused briefly, and then said anyway, "I am Todou. I don't know why you recognize me, Suzaku, nor do I see any reason to put trust in you. But because it is Lelouch asking, I will give you the benefit of the doubt until you have proven yourself trustworthy." And then he was silent and perfectly still again. Suzaku got the feeling that he had said more than he would usually. He was left wondering, hopelessly, if the Todou he knew was that way and that's why he had the feeling.

"You should spend some time talking with everyone to learn their reasons for fighting," Lelouch said, breaking him out of his thoughts. The boy nodded and offered Lelouch a bit of a smile, to which he briefly responded before returning his attention to the group. "For now we have important business to attend to." He gestured grandly to the table in front of them.

Ougi immediately cleared his throat and scrambled to get everything laid out properly for their leader. He seemed like a nervous person, although Suzaku had yet to see Lelouch give the man any reason to feel that way.

"It's actually pretty lucky that you didn't meet up with us as originally planned. When we arrived in town the place was…it's falling to pieces, Lelouch. Buildings are slowly collapsing, plants and animals are dying…what I had wanted to report to you there was that we had noticed an increase in Second Generations and a slight decrease in First Generations. They appear to be evolving."

"So soon? But it hasn't been long since our last meeting, and the town was only in a state of minor disrepair…" Lelouch seemed confused and agitated by this information. He draped a graceful hand over his mouth and stared intently at the ground.

"We were shocked too. The destructive power of the Second Generations is noticeably greater than that of the First Generations, but I think that the major issue is…number. It's always been difficult to count them, but I really believe that they're growing in numbers at a phenomenal rate. Second Generations also seem to be more aggressive than First Generations. They know when you can tell that they're there…and if you pose any kind of threat at all they'll attack." Ougi gave a heavy sigh, his brow furrowed and eyes glancing furtively between their leader and the map on the table. "It's getting really hard out there. Our weapons seem to be less and less effective."

"If we have Suzaku that won't be a problem any longer," Lelouch responded firmly before returning his gaze to Ougi. Suzaku found himself blushing a little at the sheer confidence this cat Lelouch held in him despite only knowing him for…a few days? "As I told Ougi earlier," here he addressed the rest of the group, "Charles zi Britannia spoke to me of the monsters. He called them the Incuria."

There was a pregnant pause amongst them, during which a shared feeling of unease threatened to send shivers down the spines of the five members.

"As we previously suspected, they are indeed very harmful to the health and safety of all things. He told me that their entire purpose…is to judge us of our worth and usefulness. He said that they would create a perfect world by removing those they deem unnecessary. But he won't reveal their existence to the people, he won't give them the opportunity to choose to resist." He swept a hand out dramatically in a way that seemed peculiar to Suzaku. The epic gesture reminded him uncannily of someone, as did the authority and charisma evident in Lelouch's voice. For someone who refused to fully explain himself or trust anyone, he seemed terribly good at gaining the trust and obedience of others.

And as the cat boy had hoped, those that had chosen to follow him became riled up at his words, spurred on by the intensity of his tone and the obvious outrage that had him standing rigid before them.

"That bastard!" Kallen yelled, finally removing her feet from the table to slam her fist down on the surface, a fierce glower on her face. "We can't let it happen!"

"I'll kick his ass!" Was Tamaki's loud declaration. As if to one-up Kallen, he got to his feet and pumped a fist into the air. The red haired girl next to him growled at the unspoken challenge and proceeded to tackle him to the ground. This time no one moved to stop their wrestling match.

"Lelouch…what're we going to do? With their numbers and strength rapidly increasing…"

"It'll be easier to let the world know, won't it?" Lelouch finished for him. Kallen and Tamaki stopped rolling around in the dirt to look up at him, Tamaki pinned underneath the more physically capable girl and looking to be the one worse for wear. At the questioning looks Lelouch nodded and continued his explanation. "Soon it will be impossible for them to ignore that something is wrong. Before the Incuria couldn't do much. They rotted food, broke things, killed plants…all very unpleasant, obnoxious, and with an occasional death as the consequence, but now they're capable of doing far more destructive things. If they truly are more capable…who could ignore a constantly growing number of mutilated bodies?"

"Are you suggesting we allow them to continue?" asked Todou gruffly from his seat, arms folded over his broad chest and small eyes shut.

"Not at all. I'm already coming up with strategies to combat them as effectively as possible, to reduce damage. But if what you said is true…if that whole town was nearly destroyed by them, how much longer can people continue to delude themselves that nothing is wrong?"

The elder man nodded slowly, but there was a sense of unease in the barn once again. Suzaku felt it was necessary to pipe up and break the awkwardness.

"…Have you tried to locate where these things are originating from?"

All eyes turned to him. He kept his posture straight and refused to allow himself to feel intimidated or nervous. He had to convince himself that Lelouch really believed in him to bring him here like this, and because everyone believed in Lelouch, they would accept his presence as legitimate. Ougi cleared his throat and moved to smooth out their map. Upon closer inspection Suzaku realized that there were various markings made on it with black ink.

"We've been doing our best to keep track of them as much as possible, but it's really difficult. All of these are basic estimates…"

Lelouch moved closer to the table to inspect the map with slightly narrowed eyes. Ougi hurriedly got to his feet to explain to him. Suzaku could discern the palace from a small drawing near the middle of the map, up against what he believed to be mountains. Spreading out from the palace in a crescent shape were scrawling words he took to represent names of towns, each accompanied by a little house or two.

"We've noticed a high concentration from this area over here, a spot behind the palace on the mountains. There are many that appear to linger around the back of the town, but…it's almost as if most of them go out to the other surrounding towns. In the past we've thought that they pop up anywhere because we aren't sure of how they multiply or come into existence, but we've started to believe that they all come from this one source and travel out to places inhabited by people…"

"Is the pattern similar in dog territory?"

"If by similar you mean that, from the same spot, they spread over into places inhabited by dogs…it seems like they use the mountains to get into dog territory, judging by the density of the population in towns closer to the mountains versus farther away."

"All of them originating from one spot…we should send in some scouts to try and discern whether or not that's really what is going on." Lelouch stood up straight again and Ougi nodded quickly while offering Lelouch the book he had taken from their makeshift shelf. He was about to explain what it was when they were interrupted by a soft and smooth voice, clearly belonging to a female.

"It's worse than you originally thought, Lelouch." She sounded bored and otherwise emotionless. Everyone immediately looked at her, and both Kallen and Tamaki tensed. Ougi seemed a little nervous, but the other two members kept their gazes even.

She was a petite girl with long green hair and golden eyes that reflected the lack of emotion in her voice. Compared to the others around the table she was dressed in a regal dress, but she showed no sign of having any ears or tail like the others; she was a human, just like Suzaku. There was a nagging sensation that he knew her as well, but the frustration of not being able to remember her name or anything about her was enough to make him swat the thought away. He didn't really know any of these people, he reminded himself.

The silence lasted and it seemed like one of the more rambunctious members would demand her explanation, but she finally continued with her eyes locked on Suzaku.

"Charles isn't just eager to support the Incuria…but his plan is to use them until the world is molded to his own liking," she waited until they were done with their shocked and outraged noises, and then followed the statement up with a very grave, "For now…he's found a way to bend them to his will."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Firstly...I was nervous introducing all these characters at once, so hopefully they seem "in character" enough for you. I plan to have more, of course, but I've never been that good at focusing on a bunch of different personalities. Secondly, Kallen probably seems more brusque than necessary, but I thought since she's the rebellious type, she'd be acting more like this because it's not too acceptable of women in...wherever they are. Lastly, I am well aware that a dog and cat mating doesn't yeild a fox. Please just accept it as a convenient term for this story n.n;

Anyway I hope it was enjoyable! I'd love your feedback~


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Finally finally FINALLY! I sat down and was like, "I AM GOING TO FINISH THIS SUCKER. TODAY." And I did it. Between various real life occurences that kept my attention elsewhere, my awful tendency to start writing cracky oneshots and my brief hope to participate in NaNoWriMo, I managed to finish it. So to anyone interested, HERE IT IS~! ...*anti-climactic receival* ....8D;;;

I decided that I'd give up NaNoWriMo and focus on getting this story to at least 50k words instead. I came to the realization that I just didn't have much interest in a completely original story when I already had spent so much time thinking about the plot for this one. And now I'll be quiet and let you get to the chapter. Hee~ Hopefully it isn't too boring, I kept getting the feeling that not very much was happening. But good stuff is coming up, I promise! ...Probably. I also made it longer? Eheh.  
Please let me know what you think, kay? It helps me a lot!

Thanks to my friends that read this over for me before I posted it, and thanks to those that reviewed! X3

Disclaimer: I don't own Code Geass...do I really have to be reminded of this every chapter? D8

* * *

The silence that dragged on was heavy with disbelief. Everyone in the room was tense and staring at the strange human girl with startled expressions, some even holding horror at the thought of what her statement could mean.

Charles zi Britannia supported the Incuria. He believed that for the sake of a perfect world filled with the cream of the crop of the human race, death and destruction of everyone else, without their knowing, was acceptable.

Charles zi Britannia was vile enough to not only support this monstrosity of a threat…he was controlling it.

"You lie!" Kallen yelled, breaking the silence, and looked ready to tackle the other woman to the ground.

"There's no way that bastard could pull something like that off!" Tamaki followed up angrily, always ready to hop on the yelling bandwagon to try and one-up Kallen. For once she didn't care.

"You can't be serious…" Ougi muttered, still more horrified than angry.

The girl rolled her eyes at them.

"Why would I bother coming here and relaying something like this if it wasn't the truth?" She spun around on her heel to face away from them, her long green hair flying around her like a curtain. "It isn't as if I like being in your company, as you surely don't enjoy being in mine," her tone was still flat, though it took on an almost wry edge. "If you don't want me to continue, I can leave instead. It doesn't bother me what happens to you."

One red-haired fox growled darkly, but fell silent. Tamaki gave a snort and muttered something under his breath. The mysterious girl turned around again and fixed him with an intimidating and cold stare, her amber eyes glinting with something almost malicious.

"What was that, mongrel?" her voice was icy and dangerous enough that Tamaki chose to retreat with his ears flicked back and tail between his legs. She smirked, her position of power in the group once more established.

"Please just continue," Lelouch said, sounding aggravated with the little squabbles amongst them.

The girl shrugged as she turned her attention to him. While it was very subtle, there was a difference in her treatment of Lelouch over the other people. It seemed to Suzaku that the cat boy had that sort of effect…warranting special treatment, that is. He felt oddly helpless in this situation, like more of a bystander watching the prediction of a nasty train crash when he had no knowledge of the workings of trains or what he could do to help.

"Don't look at me like that, Lelouch. It's the people in your group interrupting me, after all." Nevertheless she seemed ready to go on. "There was a prophecy about the Incuria. On their own they are nothing more than helpers of the natural decomposing process, creatures drawn to neglect that thrive on slowly removing energy and vibrance. They're neither good nor bad. They just are. Like the ocean, the wind, the coming of storms…"

"So why would there be a prophecy about them taking bunches of lives to create 'paradise'?" Suzaku piped up. The girl turned her gaze on him and he felt shivers run down his spine. Had he been wrong by inquiring? But a slow half-smile tugged on her lips and there seemed to be a sort of recognition in her eyes.

"Because many prophecies are self-fulfilling. They set the seeds of an idea into the heads of countless minds over many generations. Eventually the idea will find someone who believes in it so strongly that they will work towards it, consciously or subconsciously. The man to try and realize the potential of this prophecy is none other than the emperor of the cats…how he managed to gain control over them I'm not sure. Usually they wouldn't grow in number and strength this quickly…"

"That spot on the map they seem to be originating from," Lelouch suddenly exclaimed as he moved closer to the table, hands laid flat on the surface so he could lean in closer and inspect the parchment. "You may not have the answers, but they might be there."

"It would be extremely dangerous to travel there, you know," she drawled boredly as she played with a lock of her hair.

"What else can we do? We can't extract the answers from him, and no other person would know about this. But if we simply sit back on the edges of their circle of destruction, thousands of innocent people will be slaughtered because of his mad notion!" The situation seemed to ignite a passion in him, a similar passion to the one Suzaku had seen before, but this one seemed less controlled and focused into the performance of a convincing and charismatic speech. It was a raw determination that Lelouch truly felt, a need to perform justice when no one else would. "We need to save them from both of these monsters…from this new breed of controlled Incuria and their master, Charles zi Britannia!"

"You're so overdramatic," she sounded amused as she watched him. "But then again, I suppose you did always have a flare for things like that." Here she turned her attention to Suzaku once again, and he stiffened automatically.

"It looks like you finally found him. I was wondering when you would show up."

Suzaku was shocked. He had known that Lelouch was looking for another human, one with the capabilities to fight against the Incuria rather than just seeing them. But the way she said it made it seem as if she had been aware that it was him, personally, that would end up fitting the bill.

"I can't help you much anymore. What little I was able to do has become obsolete – the weapons I gave to you will no longer be very effective now that they grow stronger. But with this boy…" the girl smiled. It wasn't sarcastic or wry, nor was it taunting; it was more of a knowing smile, and maybe even the tiniest bit kind, though she didn't allow it to show for very long. She had an image to uphold, after all. "Lelouch, if you work with this boy, then no matter what feat you decide to accomplish, you will succeed."

A sudden surge of different emotions ran through Suzaku. He was overwhelmed with a sense of familiarity, pride, determination, confidence…because of this he felt surprised as well. Together they could do anything; he knew these words, and they made him very…happy. The thought of working with Lelouch as equals, unstoppable with the force of their combined abilities, brought him immense excitement. He practically beamed, which earned him an amused glance from the strange girl. Lelouch was oblivious to the exchange going on between them, but looked very pleased himself.

"I will see to it that we do," he confirmed with a confident nod. "We need to move out as soon as the sun sets and travel by night around the outskirts of the castle town back towards the mountains. Ougi and Todou will get supplies when we camp at the base of the mountains, and Sayoko, you shall return to the main base of operations to inform the others of what has transpired. They should understand that the situation is dire enough to warrant immediate investigation without waiting for reinforcement. I do want as many able bodied fighters to make their way here as discreetly as possible, however. I will discuss the formation of the forces you shall relay to them before we part ways. Suzaku, you and I must work on training as we travel. We will have to devise a way to enhance the ability of our weapons so that they will be effective against these stronger generations of Incuria, but I don't plan on a confrontation with them just yet…keep in mind that our current mission is simply one of reconnaissance."

There was silent agreement amongst them. When he nodded, everyone besides the mysterious green haired girl and Suzaku left to go prepare for the journey come nightfall. A touch of anxiety appeared in Lelouch's eyes as he turned his attention to the girl, then, and momentarily ignored Suzaku.

"C.C….how is Nunnally doing?" His voice had lowered considerably into a hushed whisper, and he took on an urgent tone.

That name struck a chord within Suzaku, once again triggering inexplicable emotions and shooing away some of the thick fog that hovered around his memory. Nunnally was…Nunnally was someone very important to both him and Lelouch. She was… Lelouch's younger sister. He couldn't remember her face, but he pictured a physically frail and small body with pale skin and a halo of wavy brown hair, very light in its shade. He could remember a gentle and soft touch and a kind, melodious giggle. He wondered if the Nunnally of this world was as sweet as the one he had some memories of, and in the process found himself missing the Nunnally he knew.

_She and Lelouch are probably very worried about me right now…_

"I have been able to keep her safe from him so far. I suggest you finish this as soon as possible…I'm not sure how much longer I can continue," said the girl, the one Lelouch had called C.C. That name was peculiar to Suzaku, but he was starting to feel a bit overwhelmed from the rush of varying levels of familiarity. "…She misses you," C.C. added nonchalantly after a moment's pause.

"…I understand." Lelouch's voice was grave as he turned away from C.C. "Soon I will have identified all the conditions that need to be cleared. I won't allow him to be a threat to her any longer."

There was something very subtle in Lelouch's words that Suzaku very nearly missed. When he managed to stumble upon it, the information was so profound, such an epiphany, that he simply gaped in awe at the retreating form of the cat version of his friend.

_Everything he does is for Nunnally, _he thought, and suddenly he was able to see everything Lelouch did in a new light. He was slowly rediscovering things about himself and Lelouch. _He cares about people and holds a strong sense of justice because of her. He's had his own tragedies and doesn't want others to suffer when he understands the pain, but Nunnally…it's what you think she wants, isn't it Lelouch? You have to have good morals for her, just as much as you need to protect her and her happiness. Is that why you don't want to explain yourself?_

Caught in his thoughts, he didn't notice that Lelouch had left him alone with C.C. in favor of discussing the plan with other members of the group. Thus, Suzaku was startled by her lazy and bored drawl of a voice.

"You're from a different world."

He jumped and stumbled a little, but caught his balance quickly and stared at the green-haired girl. She was smirking at him, her masked and mysterious eyes suggesting a sense of knowing far beyond that of any normal person.

"H-how…?"

"I just know these things," she shrugged. "How I know isn't important. What I do with the information I have, however, is."

She allowed him time to process her words, but he still found himself confused. In the end he gave up and simply nodded.

"All right. And?"

"And what?" she replied evenly, quizzically, her eyebrows slowly rising.

"Well…were you going to continue with that subject? Don't you have more to say?"

"I never said that," she chuckled softly. He got the feeling she was simply using him as a toy, manipulating him for her own amusement. It infuriated him, and she must have noticed, because she smirked again.

"Then what was the point of bringing it up in the first place?" he managed to ask calmly when it didn't seem as if she would go on without prompting. Counting to ten was a good way to keep himself under control, and he found himself utilizing it more than ever. It wasn't often that people got under his skin quite like this, he knew.

"I was merely pointing out a fact. Consider it a helpful reminder when it comes time for you to need it."

He wasn't enjoying her mind games and the lack of sense she was making, so he was happy to see her turn and silently dismiss him.

"…They do miss you," she paused for a moment to murmur. Her tone was so different that it surprised him and he half wondered if it had actually came from her mouth. "I wouldn't take too long to return, if I were you. Going back should be your priority."

"I don't know how to go back…and now this Lelouch has asked me to help him. You said it yourself, he needs me to be able to do this, right? So it's a tough decision…"

"And yet you've already made the decision to help him, haven't you?" There was a smile in her voice, another one that didn't seem to fit the character she'd already established.

Before he could respond she was gone. He was left feeling as if he knew less than when he had first started talking to her. It seemed as if she knew more about him, where he was from, and how to get back there than he did. She encouraged him to return, and yet it was she that had nudged him in the direction of accepting. How could he decline after being told that he was the key to helping Lelouch succeed? Without anyone willing to pull themselves away from preparation and speak to him, he was left alone at the small table, sullenly flipping through the books recording sightings of Incuria.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

At some point he had fallen asleep with his arms crossed on the table and his cheek resting on his arms. When he was jostled awake it was very dark in the barn. A candle flickered nearby to provide a touch of light in addition to the moon visible through the window.

"It's time to depart, Suzaku." The slightly hushed voice was familiar.

"I had a strange dream…someone talking to me about their day," he murmured in response while rubbing at his eyes. They were adjusting and he was able to make out the tiniest glint of violet with help from the candle.

"If you want to tell me about it, you need to wait until we're on our way. We need to make use of the time we have, and if we stay much longer we could be found." So he gestured for Suzaku to follow him and carried the candle towards the large doors. Cloaks were distributed among the group, plain and simple looking ones with hoods to hide their features, and they were sent out in groups of two with Sayoko heading off in a different direction. Lelouch and Suzaku were paired together, much to the disappointment of two other members, and silently left the barn last. It was their job to close the doors enough to hide everything from view while maintaining the image of a desolate and abandoned building. When Lelouch was satisfied, they walked.

They couldn't bring candles along with them, so it was just the moonlight, which didn't reach very far into the foliage they were creeping through. Progress was slow, almost painfully so, as the path needed to be carefully felt out. At any amount of shifting in the bushes they would freeze and wait, breath held, until they could discern that it wasn't a threat.

So for the first quarter of the trek it was intense. Suzaku was on high-alert, pumped full of adrenalin and turning every little rustle into a knight stalking them, one of the Incuria watching, waiting…Gradually he calmed down when nothing happened. He began to feel exasperated when the pent up energy lacked an outlet, and from there he was soon weary. Not tired, as he had far more stamina than that, but the effort it took to move such small amounts wore on him. They didn't talk for fear of being heard, but into the third quarter of the trip when both of them were sick of travelling it seemed that Lelouch had had enough of that philosophy.

"I never received a real answer from you, did I?" His voice was soft as he mused aloud, startling Suzaku from his trance-like state.

"Lelouch!" he hissed, alarmed, and looked around as if expecting someone to pop up out of thin air and attack them.

"It's all right as long as we keep our voices down. We aren't very close to the outskirts of town – I made sure of that."

"Oh…" Suzaku trailed off, feeling a little silly in light of his unnecessary caution. "A real answer? For what?"

"Whether or not you would be joining us," he replied. A look was shot his way, but the darkness obscured it for the most part. All Suzaku really managed to see was a glint of purple and a strip of alabaster skin, illuminated by the light of the moon filtering through branches and blankets of leaves. It looked very soft, and the thought made Suzaku's throat go dry.

"That? Ah, right…" he looked away as if in thought and sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. By now they had paused in their journey to speak with one another. "Well…"

"It was selfish of me to drag you along without getting your opinion first. I was blinded at the possibility of finally finding a compatible human…I didn't stop to consider that things might already be very overwhelming and confusing for you without the help of such a heavy issue. Your main concern is probably returning home, isn't it?" his smile was apologetic and gentle, as well as brief. Suzaku thought that Lelouch looked wonderful when he smiled and wished he had gotten to see it longer. "If the me you know is anything like myself, I'm sure he misses you very much."

"Lelouch…" he murmured. A wave of compassion for the cat boy rushed through him. While it wasn't easy to see where branches and rocks littered the ground around them, Lelouch was close enough that he didn't need to move himself far; his arms were soon around the boy.

He was amazed at how cold it actually was, at least in comparison to Lelouch. His skin, during the walk, had begun to feel chilled to the touch, but Lelouch was very warm in his arms. The quiet startled noise said boy emitted was very adorable, compelling him to half rest his cheek against his head. A soft and furry ear flicked at him and he delighted in the brush against his skin.

"You think of people more often than you give yourself credit for. Someone truly selfish wouldn't say something like that, would they?" In all honesty Suzaku wasn't very sure if that was true or not. He was blindly trusting Lelouch as if it were second nature.

"What decision were you allowed to make, Suzaku?" he responded, sounding the tiniest bit muffled from his position with his face against Suzaku's shoulder. While he seemed a little uncomfortable and confused at first, he was slowly relaxing into the embrace and allowing it to continue. "And now it's not as if you can simply walk away. You would get stranded in the forest. I suppose you could return to town with Ougi and Todou once we've reached the base of the mountains…"

"Why would I do that?" Suzaku honestly seemed surprised at the suggestion.

"You never asked for any of this, and you don't need to keep putting your own life in danger for some people you think look familiar. Getting home should be your priority," he said in a tone of mild aggravation. It was something Suzaku should have been able to see without explanation.

"No, Lelouch. I mean why would I go to town with them when we need to use that time to train and practice?" He sounded amused, and the smile was obvious in his voice. He could practically feel Lelouch get embarrassed, so he pushed it further. "My place is with you."

"Idiot," was the disgruntled reply he got after a moment of pause. He laughed softly and brushed his nose against one of Lelouch's ears before releasing him.

"Maybe I am. But I've seen how passionate you can be about this. There are lots of lives at stake, and I _know_ I can make a difference. Even if I want to know where I came from and how to get back, I can't leave people to die. So I'll look for my answers while I help you, and maybe if I'm lucky I'll figure it out and manage to save people at the same time."

Lelouch was looking away, probably out of embarrassment. They were still standing close enough that he could feel Lelouch's tail touch his leg as it nervously swung behind him. The cat boy seemed startled at the contact, but tried to ignore it.

"You're one of those obnoxious people I see. Always putting others before yourself, even when you need to come first sometimes. For strangers, even…" He started walking again, the more serious conversation out of the way and a trek to the designated meeting spot still ahead of them.

"You put people before yourself, too," Suzaku commented as he began to follow him again. He thought of Nunnally, but her face was still unclear to him.

"You think of me too highly," his voice was wry, but he changed the topic before Suzaku could protest. "There are very few people in this world that know anything about magic use. I've read what I could on it, but I know very little. It's something we're going to have to learn together, through practice and experimentation. The first time we did it was a very inefficient way, as magic use doesn't usually drain someone so quickly…or it shouldn't, based on what I've read."

Suzaku sighed softly, not entirely pleased with Lelouch's topic change, but interested in the subject nonetheless. Perhaps he would approach Lelouch about his meaning later, as he did need to learn more about this "magic".

"I believe it works much better when both persons are aware of what's going on and completely consenting."

It seemed inevitable that he would twist that and get himself embarrassed, so he did his best to keep it hidden.

"How does knowing about it and allowing you to do it make it more efficient?"

"I told you, didn't I? Humans are huge sources of energy, but lack the ability to focus it properly. Cats and dogs can focus the energy to create the spell, but using their own energy wouldn't be enough to cast anything. Spells are performed when a human and cat or dog form a bond with one another, a channel between their bodies that combines the energy source with the focus. Think of a lake that is being held back from a dry river bed by a beaver's dam. Both the lake and the river bed make contact with the dam, but unless the channel between them is opened, the water won't flow into the river bed. There are also varying levels of openness, from a small hole to the removal of the entire thing," he explained while they walked. It was a little difficult for Lelouch to focus on his explanation while tiptoeing around foliage, but Suzaku didn't have much of a problem. He felt guilty.

"So if I let you use my energy, it's like removing the whole dam between us?"

"In a sense," Lelouch said, sounding slightly breathless and strained. "I'm sure it takes a little more effort than simply accepting it, and we'll need to figure out how it works. But through that I think we can manage more spells. I also wanted to make sure that you understood that it's a team effort. You have to make the decision to work with me…that part is entirely up to you."

"I don't really get how it works and all…and I did feel drained after you did it before, but I want to work with you. We'll find a way to improve it." He was smiling again, oddly thrilled at the thought of working with Lelouch like this. Lelouch didn't say anything in response, but he could tell that the boy was still embarrassed.

However, after that exchange they weren't left with much to talk about and fell into silence again. Well, Suzaku could have come up with plenty to talk about, but he got the feeling that Lelouch wasn't very interested in that when all flustered. While he thought it was cute, he didn't understand why he had to get all worked up over silly little things. Nevertheless they continued on without speaking once more. By the time they finally stopped walking, Suzaku was unsure as to how much time had actually passed. The sky was vaguely lighter than before, but he thought that also could have been because they finally got out of the forest surrounding the very outer edge of the outskirts of town. As safety precautions the group would remain split up until they reached the base of the mountains, so they were on their own once again. They couldn't build a fire for fear of attracting attention, so their cloaks had to double as blankets. This was only somewhat successful.

Their temporary camp was on a carpet of soft grass, partially cut off from view by a well placed tree and a fallen tree trunk. It wouldn't have been too bad if not for the fact that Suzaku didn't have a pillow, he was very cold, and he was starving. He couldn't recall the last time he had eaten, and he found himself willing to eat any of the weird plants of this world, provided Lelouch told him they were edible.

Being who he was, he kept quiet about it.

He had heard once that it was always coldest in the hours just before dawn. Now, lying in the grass with his cloak pulled tight around him and trembling, he thought that this was very true. Wasn't it dangerous to sleep if it was too cold? Was Lelouch all right? He hadn't heard much from him since their discussion when walking.

Suddenly something warm was nestling against him and he jumped in surprise.

"Wha?!" He blinked rapidly and found himself staring into those beautiful amethyst eyes. He immediately relaxed. "Lelouch, what are you doing? Are you cold?"

Suzaku hadn't seemed very aware of just how visible his own suffering was becoming, and Lelouch wondered if he should really break it to him.

"You are too, aren't you?" Was his solution.

Somehow the cold hadn't slowed down Suzaku's circulation, as he found heat pooling in his cheeks. He wondered why that heat couldn't be more considerate towards the rest of his body, then gave a slight nod.

"It's freezing. I know we couldn't bring much with us, but we should have packed blankets or something."

"I wasn't expecting to stop for a rest before the sun had risen…but I suppose even then it would have been wise…" Lelouch said before sighing softly. It didn't escape Suzaku.

"…You're preoccupied," he stated.

"Perhaps I am." When the silence stretched on, he gave up the act. "…I am," and he sighed again. "I had never thought my father had become so insane. I never thought he would be the one controlling the Incuria all along." He sounded forlorn, and Suzaku was overcome with the strong desire to crush him to his chest and stroke his hair.

He settled for wrapping an arm around him.

"I understand. And here we are, preparing to explore the potential lair of those monsters."

"…Since you came along, our progress has leaped forward. To even have a site in mind that could be a potential lair…I'm ecstatic. This has dragged on and on and I want so badly for it to end. With this journey, Suzaku, we could either be rapidly approaching the end of the battle, for better or for worse…or we may be on the very edge of the beginning of a long, painful war."

Suzaku was gradually warming up, whether because of Lelouch's words or the actual proximity of their bodies…he was sure it was a mixture of the two. With the shivering greatly reduced and his mind freed up now that his survival wasn't threatened, he was able to focus on their conversation and respond semi-intelligently.

"I haven't actually done anything for you since I arrived, you know. But…I want to do my best to help you as much as I possibly can. We'll stop it before it can become a full-scale war. We can do it if we work together, right?" He smiled into the darkness.

A soft noise of affirmation was his answer. The cat boy was once again lost in thought, and by the sound of it, far more tired than he would ever admit. Suzaku idly rubbed Lelouch's shoulder, leading to the boy settling more comfortably against him while muffling a yawn. What had only been a strain of Suzaku's patience was also a physical strain to the boy in his arms. Lelouch wouldn't be Lelouch without his trademark lack of stamina and he found it to be endearing, even though he always ended up teasingly reminding him that he should exercise more. The warm weight of his tail draped over his legs and he bit his lip against the odd rush of tingling heat it sent through his body. Lelouch was drifting off against him and he felt painfully awake in response.

"You've done plenty for me…"

It startled him out of his thoughts, but he wasn't quite sure if Lelouch had actually said anything. He felt odd again, mostly numb and kind of floaty, and the blackness felt different from that of the partial obscurity of night.

"Once again I can't do a thing for those that are important to me!" said a frustrated voice, sounding awfully similar to Lelouch, but on the verge of tears. "All I can do is sit here and watch, Suzaku…after everything you've done for me I'm so…"

_Please don't call yourself…_

"…Useless!"

_No, no…you're far from useless! You…it's me that's…_

"…It's so painful to wait. I don't even know if you're going to be okay after this…" The invisible voice was uneven now, trembling and shaky from the sobs, undoubtedly being stubbornly held in due to pride.

_Please don't worry about me…I'll be fine, so don't…I don't want to put you through this._

"You've always been so amazing," was the soft response he got. "You charge head on into everything and somehow when you say it'll end up okay, it always has. Everyone has gotten caught up in your luck and skill…I suppose that even I started to unconsciously believe in your 'invincibility'. You would never get hurt…an impossible outcome of your idiotic actions. Everything would be okay…" the increasing sorrow squeezed at his chest. Despite the semi-numbness, he was aware of shifting next to him, until a familiar presence was close by.

"This isn't okay…Can you hear me? Everything isn't okay!"

And the voice dissolved into quiet crying. He felt horrible for causing so much pain without even realizing it, and for being helpless to offer any comfort.

"—zaku? Suzaku? Can you hear me?"

The voice was back but there was still the sound of quiet crying. His eyes snapped open and he stared up at the sky. The blue of daylight was obscured and blurry and he tried to blink it away. He noticed that Lelouch was leaning over him with a worried expression.

"Muh?" he intelligently responded. When had he fallen asleep?

"What's the matter?" Lelouch asked, sounding concerned. Suzaku wasn't sure what would warrant such concern, and he was about to reassure him that nothing was the matter at all when his hand, having moved to rub at an eye, came in contact with warm wetness.

"I…was crying?" he sounded so confused that Lelouch looked mildly bewildered as well.

"…Yes. In your sleep. Were you having a bad dream?"

Suzaku considered what he could remember of the exchange, his brow furrowing. "I don't know," was what he ended up coming up with. "I'm not sure if these are dreams…it's always very dark or very, very bright and I can't move. My body feels numb and I can't see anything or do anything but listen. Then there's always someone talking to me. Sometimes it's a little girl, sometimes a young man, sometimes a couple people…even though they try to be upbeat at times, all of them always seem to be very sad. It sounds like I made them all sad."

Lelouch listened and gave a slow nod. He sat back and offered Suzaku a hand up, then they both sat facing one another. The cloaks and their clothes were wrinkled and Lelouch's hair looked slightly out of place. The air felt crisp and clean, somewhat cool, but it was approaching midday.

"Perhaps there's a message in these dreams. If you keep listening to them, their purpose might eventually become clearer to you."

"Yeah, I suppose that's all I can do…" But the solemn moment was broken by the aggravated noise of Suzaku's stomach and he blushed. One hand came up to rest on it as if to silence it. Lelouch looked amused and was soon unable to hold back a soft chuckle, and Suzaku gave a sheepish laugh in return.

"I guess it has been a while since we've eaten. I'm sorry." After digging around in the small bag they had taken with them, he produced a hunk of pale cheese with a strong odor. Suzaku felt silly for not thinking of checking the bag before, and gratefully took the piece he was handed. He sniffed it, and despite his apprehension his stomach gave another noise of impatient approval, an order for him to get on with it. "Can you eat and walk? It should be easier now that it's light out, and this part of the forest isn't as dense."

Suzaku nodded, and they were back on their feet soon after.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

When it was closer to the evening they stopped at a stream to rest.

They sat together by the water to rest their legs, but Lelouch wasn't willing to let any time go to waste. They had made good progress today, he had said. However as they drew closer to the mountains, it was also important for them to start focusing on magic. Not only did they have to get a better grip on the basics of casting spells for defense and offense of themselves, but they were in responsible for priming the new weapons with the ability to destroy Incuria.

Suzaku found that focusing was terribly difficult when he had to do it while holding Lelouch's hand. Lelouch's skin was so soft, no matter how much more physical work he was sure this cat version did in comparison to his Lelouch. The feeling of those slender and graceful fingers wrapped around his hand made his breathing shallow, which in turn made him feel light-headed.

"Suzaku! Are you even trying?" his cat partner snapped at him, annoyed, and he blinked rapidly.

"Huh?" When he noticed Lelouch's narrowed eyes he blushed darkly and sputtered out an apology. The cat boy rolled his eyes and the fur on his tail smoothed out once again.

"You're hopeless. Come on, you need to focus on this. We have to get used to the feeling of the energy flowing between us. If we're familiar with that we can better control the flow, which means better focus and less wasted effort leading to that exhaustion we both felt last time."

Oh, he could get used to this feeling all right. Suzaku wasn't sure it was the right kind of energy, though.

He cleared his throat and gave a guilty nod. Lelouch had already lectured him about his theory on how this was supposed to work, and he had pulled him out of a distracted state a couple of times since they had started.

"Let's continue?" he murmured in an attempt to pacify him. After another long moment in which Lelouch pinned him with a stern look, he sighed heavily. They hadn't made much progress, but while he was sure they wouldn't instantly become masters at it, he was sure Lelouch prided himself on being a quick study. Suzaku wasn't slow himself, especially when it came to these physical kind of things, but self taught magic was one thing he was sure took plenty of time. It just so happened they didn't have that kind of time.

"There should be a noticeable difference, a feeling of some sort…"

Suzaku shut his eyes and tried to seek out this sensation. The tingly warmth of Lelouch's touch probably wasn't what he was supposed to be looking for right now. And yet…

It was a peculiar tingling now that he thought about it. It could be mistaken for the regular tingling he was sure he would feel at Lelouch's touch, but it coiled and uncoiled, writhing about, crawling its way through his body and pulsing in various patterns. The intensity of its rush varied, making it seem so alive in its own way that he felt stupid for not noticing sooner.

"I think I got it!" he exclaimed proudly.

"Finally. Let's practice controlling the flow, then."

At first it was difficult for the two of them to make any sort of change in the energy. It seemed to fluctuate of its own free will, hardly bothering to respond to their attempts of control. With painfully slow progress they began to catch on to the particular sensation in the pattern of energy that, when applied with strong focus, made Suzaku think of threading a needle. In the end it was the focus that mattered the most, according to Lelouch. But seeing as Suzaku wasn't in the position to do the focusing, he soon found that all he needed was to be aware of the sensations and respond accordingly. If it felt like this, he needed to work at it until it felt like that. It did remind him of water rushing between them in a warm, tingling mass, and his job was to control the flow in response to what Lelouch wanted to do with it.

Originally Lelouch hadn't been sure of the importance of the words in a spell. The only one he knew was the one he had memorized from a book, the one that had protected them from the Incuria before. There were no explanations of the elements of spell casting that he knew of, and once again it was slow going.

The extent of what magic could do was also unknown to him. Was it merely sending energy in the form of attacks, and perhaps using energy to block the strikes of others? For a while he simply tried focusing the energy between them to get the hang of it, but was otherwise unsure with what to do with the focused energy. Suzaku was getting much better at gauging the level of his focus simply by the feelings that connected them, but with the energy focused and no outlet, it tended to make Lelouch feel very agitated. Often times he dropped the focus quickly in fear that pent up energy would cause either of them harm.

So as many brilliant things end up being, their success was a complete accident.

When focusing on the energy, his tired mind had wandered just a little. The trend so far was to clear his mind completely and only bother with the sensations. They had been working hard without pause and he was beginning to feel uncomfortably warm and parched, so the sound of the stream just in front of them was very appealing. The energy was still channeled in his mind as one eye slid open to glance at the water…and before he knew it, the energy he had given to the thought of water rushed through him and a thin column of the clear fluid rose into the air. It was perfectly shaped and remained stable and steady despite the fact that water was still moving beneath it, but without more direction it simply sat there on the surface. Lelouch let out a startled noise and it gave a shudder, the form losing its defined shape, then broke apart completely to rejoin the body beneath it.

Suzaku's eyes snapped open and he stared at the cat boy curiously.

"What was that?" It had definitely felt different than the exercises they had been performing this entire time.

"I think…the water…" but Lelouch sounded confused and in mild disbelief.

"…Water?" Suzaku prompted gently.

"Let's try again," he responded firmly with increased determination. An accident indeed, but if he could recreate it, he had the feeling he would be on the track to gaining real control over the magic…or at least a better understanding.

They started as they had been, with Lelouch setting the pace needed and Suzaku meeting it. This time instead of focusing on nothing but the energy itself, Lelouch focused on the water. What did he want to do with the water as a test? He thought of pulling some of the water into the air in front of them. When he had put enough focus into it, there was a rushing sensation and an unshaped mass slowly rose into the air. He felt Suzaku gasp next to him. The grip he had on Suzaku's hand tightened as if to remind him to keep concentrating; they were on the verge of a breakthrough.

He thought of molding it with invisible hands as if it were a mound of dough, pressing it into a nicely shaped sphere. The water responded accordingly, but he had to maintain a high level of focus, otherwise it threatened to collapse. After a moment of holding it he released it back into the stream.

"We…we did it!" Suzaku exclaimed beside him, his eyes lighting up as he dragged his gaze away from the river to beam at Lelouch. The cat boy was returning his smile with a softer one of his own and both of them appeared breathless from the excitement and exertion of the accomplishment. After the momentary exhilaration wore off and more attention was given to their close proximity, the slight blush on their faces was no longer due to the experiment. Their eyes were locked, faces a few inches away, and nothing but the running water of the river keeping them company. Suzaku found his eyes slowly drawn to Lelouch's lips and his throat grew dry.

It would be so easy to just lean forward and…

"We can't really celebrate yet," Lelouch murmured and glanced away. Suzaku felt disappointed, but the look on his face went unnoticed. "Focus is what's important here, but we don't know as much about what we can do with it or how to use it as effectively as we need to."

"At least we managed this much, right? You don't need to memorize any words, you just need to focus on what you want to do!"

"We don't know if it's that easy or not, Suzaku."

They took a brief break in silence as Suzaku considered what had been rather close to happening. It was incredibly weird of him to think like that, because Lelouch was simply a very good friend of his. He didn't want to jeopardize their friendship by attempting something so…uncalled for. He couldn't understand why he had felt like that and he did his best to shake it off. It had to be the heat of the moment. It didn't matter how nice Lelouch's lips looked, how beautiful his eyes had been when filled with triumph and excitement, the flush, the clasping of their hands…none of that mattered. Besides, this wasn't the Lelouch he knew. It was cruel to think of him like that instead of seeing him for who he was, as similar as they could be sometimes.

After their break they continued their work and Suzaku was able to move on by focusing on that instead. They experimented with what they could and couldn't do and how to control the things they did. There were plenty of mistakes, ones that could even have been considered dangerous, but for the most part they were making good progress. They learned that they could do many things, ranging from picking up items to making physical manifestations of their energy, but the focus and energy it took from them varied depending on how big and complicated the task was.

They were nearing the end of their energy reserves when Lelouch finally called it off, but he was less worried about thoroughly wearing them out and more concerned about their lack of progress towards the checkpoint.

"We should continue now, the night fall will offer us cover and the movement should help us stay warm."

"Lelouch…" Suzaku sighed and rubbed at the back of his head. Sure he was all for pushing himself to his limits but after the weariness from practicing and the thought of another long, endless night of trudging blindly, getting some sleep and continuing in the morning seemed like a much more appealing course of action. "We walked for hours, and then we spent more hours experimenting with a practice few people know anything about. It's practically pitch black now and the temperature is already decreasing…I don't think trying to continue on is a good idea."

Lelouch looked agitated at the thought of not pushing them onwards, and he wondered if his own Lelouch would ever push him so hard. Normally a lazy guy…he guess he did work hard when it mattered most to him. Suzaku moved closer to him and rested a hand on his shoulder.

"We can get up before the sun and walk all day tomorrow, but there isn't any point in pushing ourselves right now. We won't be much help if we're worn thin."

After a moment of hesitation and consideration the cat boy sighed heavily, although he still didn't look very pleased with the idea.

"Fine. Morning, then. Let's get some—"

Suddenly he froze and tensed, his ears perked and tail beginning to bristle. Suzaku took a step closer and opened his mouth to speak but found a hand clamped over it to keep him quiet. Lelouch was pressing close, his eyes narrowed and lips a thin line. Although Suzaku listened hard to try and figure out what had caused such a reaction, he could only hear normal sounds…the water, nocturnal animals, the wind. While he trusted this Lelouch's improved hearing, he wasn't sure what had made him react like this.

But upon further inspection he felt an odd chill spreading throughout his body. It wasn't the same chill expected from a cold night, but something far more sinister. Adrenalin began to circulate in his system and his heart pounded harder, his focus became more acute, and a sense of dread made his breathing falter.

It was difficult to see in the inky blackness of night, but perhaps their odd coloration distinguished them from their surroundings. Sliding across the ground like some kind of slugs, they looked oddly bright, although they themselves seemed to suck the very light from the area like a vacuum. They were the absence of light, but the shade of their darkness was more brilliant than the surrounding night. It wasn't the slow, amiable crawl of an idle creature moving along, as they definitely had a purpose…and they were moving right towards them. With Lelouch in his arms he was sure they were both able to see them…the cat boy was glaring right at them after all. He felt the hair rise on the back of his own neck.

"How did they…?" Suzaku hissed against Lelouch's hand. He slowly removed it without taking his eyes off of the unwanted company.

"We have to take them out." Was Lelouch's solemn response.

"There as to be like six of them though! And we're practically at our limit after all that…"

"Now that we have a better grasp of how to do this, it should be simple."

When they were closer their true forms rose up from the rippling puddles. Four of them were Second Generations and two were First Generations and they stood together in a sort of V formation with one leading. Their movements were sharp and jerky, heads tilting this way and that like clockwork toys with stiff joints. They had never faced such a large number of them before, and just being around them was beginning to make Suzaku sick.

But they did something very unexpected.

All of them, First and Second alike, moved towards their leader. When they touched it, their surfaces shuddered as if made from the ink they resembled, and slowly their forms began to accommodate each other, molding together to form one creature. All six merged into one, and the shape of that one changed.

This new generation of Incuria reminded Suzaku of a scorpion. The legs were thin and spider-like and ended in sharp, dramatic points. The body itself was thick and flat, held lower than the highest bend of the legs, and at one end was a tail, the other a head. The head was angular and flat as well, but the lack of eyes and wide, fang-filled grin were similar to that of the Second Generations. The tail was long and well muscled with a vicious looking spike on the end. The last bit of the tail was also covered in brambles to make it both a blunt and stabbing weapon.

"It's…" Suzaku gasped and held Lelouch a bit tighter to his chest.

"Third Generation," Lelouch finished solemnly, although he also appeared to be on-edge now. No one had yet to see a Third Generation Incuria and it was larger compared to the lower generations.

It didn't give them long to contemplate its new form. It rushed at them almost immediately, spindly legs carrying it with a surprising amount of speed. The distance was rapidly closing between them and the tail was looking rather menacing.

"Jeez, it's fast! Move!" Suzaku shouted and yanked Lelouch with him to the side just before the Incuria got to him. The tip of its tail slammed into the ground with enough force to shower them in dirt, and when it yanked it back out the spot was black and sickly looking. It turned to face them, moved its head in that jerky tilting motion, then lunged again.

Lelouch requested and Suzaku reacted automatically to provide him with the energy he needed. The air in front of them shimmered and the spike bounced off of it as if it had hit something solid and impenetrable. After appearing confused, it made a spine-chilling noise of frustration. They couldn't keep that sort of energy use going for long, however, so Suzaku led Lelouch by the hand off to the side.

"Attack it!" Suzaku shouted and found himself feeling agitated that he couldn't actually do any of the attacking. He wanted to be the one to protect, not the protected. All he could do was focus on the energy flow.

"I'm working on it," Lelouch responded through clenched teeth. Suzaku could see him considering his options, whether to use a more powerful but energy-consuming creation of their own, or using what they had available to pummel it to death. They didn't have much time as the Incuria was charging once again.

"Lelouch!" he cried in a strained voice as he tackled the boy to the ground, sending both of them skidding away just in time to miss being pierced by the tail. Instead of pulling back and preparing to launch it again, the tail simply swung to the side to try and get them with the brambles, and Lelouch barely managed to block it in time. If they continued like this then they would run out of energy before they could defeat it, leaving them helpless…basically dead.

They scrambled to their feet and ran again, behind a tree this time. It wasn't much protection in the long run but it gave Lelouch enough time to regain his bearings and decide how to handle the situation.

Then they were out of time. It was right there next to them, inky black and monstrous, all jagged lines and made for destruction. It was readying another attack, this one sure to get them, when Lelouch finally made his own offensive move. The energy he called forth was purple and blinding, causing the Incuria to hiss and rear back away from it. There was no way for it to dodge, and when launched it moved fast enough not to give it any time to, anyway. It ripped through the creature, tearing away and disintegrating half of its body. It toppled over with a noise of pain and writhed helplessly, unable to move with only one side of legs left. Lelouch slumped a little against Suzaku, feeling a bit dizzy from the exertion, but he needed to recover quickly and finish the job. While it could no longer move, the tail was still intact…and who knows, given time it might be able to regenerate.

Unfortunately it had another surprise up its sleeve. With Suzaku holding Lelouch steady, a worried expression on its face, the tail shot out its brambles, sending the thin needle-like attachments flying right towards them.

"Look out!"

Suzaku reacted immediately, placing himself in front of Lelouch. Some of the needles imbedded themselves in his arm before Lelouch was able to block the rest. Burning pain shot through the appendage and he gritted his teeth against it. He told himself that he could endure, repeated it like a mantra while continuing to hold Lelouch steady.

"Finish it," he managed to get out between his clenched teeth. Lelouch nodded against him and used the remaining energy he could gather to slice through the final portion of the Incuria. With a cry the last of it slipped out of existence, leaving them alone in the quiet clearing.

Both of them were exhausted and pushed to their limits. After Suzaku helped Lelouch get situated against a fallen tree stump, he couldn't remember what happened next.


End file.
